Marks & Spencer has begun legal action against Aldi, arguing the supermarket's Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake infringes its Colin the Caterpillar trademark. M&S claims that their similarity leads consumers to believe they are of the same standard and "rides on the coat-tails" of M&S's reputation. It lodged an intellectual property claim with the High Court this week. M&S wants Aldi to remove the product from sale and agree not to sell anything similar in the future. The retailer has three trademarks relating to Colin, which it believes means Colin has acquired and retains an enhanced distinctive character and reputation. The product was launched around 30 years ago. Colin's appearance has been substantially unchanged since around 2004, except for adaptations for events such as Halloween and Christmas, and related products such as Connie the Caterpillar. M&S was the first retailer to sell a caterpillar cake, but many supermarkets have since created their own similar products. Despite the legal challenge Alid decided to mock M&S using the hashtag #freecuthbert which attracted a lot of engagement over the weekend.
