British confectioner Swizzels agreed to redesign its product, Pigs Mugs sweets, after Marks & Spencer alleged that it had been masquerading as its popular Percy Pig.
M&S said it had reached an “amicable resolution” with Swizzels under which the maker of Refreshers and Parma Violets had agreed to change the design of its Pigs Mugs sweets, which have been on sale since 1996. Lawyers for the high street chain had claimed that the two sweets’ designs were so similar that its customers might have bought the wrong item in error.
A 37-page document filed at the high court in London in November by M&S said the Percy Pig brand had generated a £131.7m turnover since its launch in 1993 and that today 271 bags a minute are sold, The Guardian stated.
Responding to the Swizzels victory, an M&S spokesperson said: “M&S has a proud history as a leading innovator and for almost 140 years customers have turned to M&S for unique, original, quality products – conceived, created and developed alongside trusted suppliers and produced to the highest standards.
"M&S has a proud history as a leading innovator and for almost 140 years customers have turned to M&S for unique, original, quality products - conceived, created and developed alongside trusted suppliers and produced to the highest standards," the spokesperson added.
"M&S has made a significant investment in building a strong Percy Pig brand over the past 30 years and believe it is important to protect the registered trademarks relating to Percy Pig's appearance."
This comes after M&S successfully brought legal action against Aldi to protect its bestselling Colin the Caterpillar cake. M&S had called in the lawyers over concerns that the German discount chain’s rival chocolate sponge roll, Cuthbert, was making copycat appearances at birthday parties and picnics. Aldi also lost a court battle against M&S earlier this year after being accused of copying its light-up Christmas gin bottles.
This is not the first time M&S has taken action to protect its Percy Pig brand. Earlier this year, Fabio’s Gelato, a dessert parlour, had to change the name of its “Perky Pig Gelato” following a request from the retail company.
