Two companies can have the same idea at the same time coincidentally, but the customer might not know that. Getting your products confused with those of a competitor could weaken sales—not to mention set the grounds for a possible lawsuit.
Irish news source The Independent recently reported on the clash between two bakeries, McCambridge’s and Brennan Bakeries, with the former asserting that its rival had chosen a design that was too close to its own.
The suit, which has been ongoing since 2011, has resulted in a settlement at last, with McCambridge’s deemed in the right, although the amount of the settlement has not been disclosed.
According to Justice Peter Charleton, who sat for the case and was quoted in another Irish source called the Journal, the specific concern was a line of brown bread.
“The Court will order an account as to what profits of the defendant Brennan Bakeries are attributable to its decision to dress up the packaging of its sliced brown bread in a get up that unintentionally passed it off as the highly-regarded loaf of the plaintiff McCambridge,” he said.
Whether or not your own products are “highly regarded” yet or are still growing an appreciative audience, care must be taken to ensure that your bakery labels don’t bear a suspicious resemblance to those of another brand. The Journal also reports that in addition to the label, Brennan Bakeries employed a plastic bag, just like its competitor.
It’s possible that the design you choose looks different between drawing it up and printing, underscoring the importance of label printing software that gives you an accurate indicator of how the final product will look.
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