Aldi today declared ‘Cuthbert is free’ as it settled its copyright dispute with M&S.
A row has erupted between the two supermarket giants after Marks & Spencer claimed the German discounter copied the design of its Colin the Caterpillar cake.
But on Tuesday, both companies confirmed that an agreement had been reached, but the details would remain “confidential”.
M&S first launched the lawsuit against Aldi in April last year to force its rival to pull its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake off the shelves and agree not to sell anything similar in the future.
In May, Aldi started selling its caterpillar cake again after making changes to its chocolate face design.
On Thursday, assistant champion Timothy John Bowles signed an agreement in a consent order filed in the High Court.
The order, first reported by The Telegraph, allowed the legal claim to be withdrawn, saying the retailers reached a “confidential agreement” in November.
An M&S spokesman said: “The purpose of the lawsuit was to protect intellectual property (IP) in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome.”
Meanwhile, Aldi said Cuthbert is now “free” after the row.
An Aldi spokesman said: “Cuthbert is free and looks forward to seeing all his fans again very soon.”
M&S and Aldi are also embroiled in a separate copyright dispute over allegations that the German rival copied an M&S “light-up” gin liqueur product.
The M&S spokesman added: “Like many other UK companies, big and small, we understand the true value and cost of innovation and the tremendous amount of time, passion, creativity, energy and attention to detail that goes into the design that.” Development and launch of a product flow to market and build its brand over many years.
“So it’s understandable that we want to defend our intellectual property and protect our suppliers – many of them small companies who have worked with us for decades.”
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