Sweet wars: Lindt wins right to make chocolate bear

Bonn based Haribo has been producing the gummy Goldbär since the sixties while the golden foil-wrapped “Lindt Teddy” was first introduced for the 2011 Christmas season.

The Swiss chocolate giant Lindt is enjoying the sweet scent of victory over its rival Haribo after Germany’s supreme court ruled in its favour in the so-called “battle of the bears”.

Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli has defeated a legal challenge from rival confectioner Haribo, which sought to stop it making its gold chocolate bears.

The gelatin Haribo bear’s packaging features a cartoon bear with a red ribbon around its neck while Lindt’s gold-foil chocolate bear has a real ribbon around its neck.

The court found “gold bear” wasn’t the only term which could be used to accurately describe Lindt’s product – and “teddy”, “chocolate bear” or “chocolate teddy” could also be used. First sold in its current form in 1967, about 100 million such bears are now produced daily.

A German court initially ruled in favour of the German manufacturer but an appeal court later threw out the verdict.

Lindt welcomed the ruling saying that it would continue to “delight all Lindt chocolate lovers with the Lindt Teddy”.

Lawsuits over product trademarks are often brought in Germany, where the justice system is generally viewed as offering strong protection against violations. But the court ruled that the case needs to be heard again on appeal.