NESTLE has failed in its efforts to trademark its four-finger chocolate bar.
Cadbury successfully argued that “there was likely to have been a number of similarly shaped products” produced by other companies.
Mr Justice Arnold dismissed Nestle’s appeal on the issue of
“acquired distinctiveness”, with the existence of a Norwegian product that has been around for nearly as long as the 80-year old Kit Kat weakening its case.
Nestle’s York factory produces up to 7m Kit Kat bars a day.
In a statement, Nestle said: “KitKat is much loved and the iconic shape of the four-finger bar, which has been used in the UK for more than 80 years, is well known by consumers.
“We believe that the shape deserves to be protected as a trade mark in the UK and are disappointed that the court did not agree on this occasion.”
The judgement folllowed a decision by the European Court of Justice which also found against Nestle, deciding that the shape alone wasn’t used by shoppers to identify the product.
