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Norway's Kvikk Lunsj beats KitKat in EU courts

The Local Norway
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Norway's Kvikk Lunsj beats KitKat in EU courts
A Kvikk Lunsj snack laid out during summer hiking trip. Photo: Kvikk Lunsj/Facebook

Norway's Kvikk Lunsj bar has won the right to remain on sale in the UK, after it won a legal battle with the makers of KitKat, who had attempted to trademark the four finger bar concept.

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The feud between Nestlé, which makes KitKat, and Mondelēz International, the makers of Kvikk Lunsj, began in 2010, when Nestlé first attempted to trademark the shape of its four-finger KitKat chocolate bar in the UK.

Mondelēz disputed the application, arguing that Kvikk Lunsj, which was created in 1937, also had a four finger appearance, and could be found in some UK shops. 

 

Norwegians consume an average of nine Kvikk Lunsj bars a year, three of which are consumed at Easter, when Norwegian families traditionally go off on cross-country skiing trips, fuelled by Kvikk Lunsj calories.

Rowntree's began making a four-finger bar in 1935, but called it "Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp", only renaming it "KitKat Chocolate Crisp" in 1937.

On Wednesday, the European Court of Justice ruled that the appearance of KitKat's chocolate covered wafers was not distinct enough to trademark.

The EU judges noted that the trademark Nestlé is seeking differs from the actual product because it shows only a picture of the bar and omits the embossed word "KitKat" and sections of its oval logo.
 
“The trade mark applicant must prove that the relevant class of persons perceive the goods or services designated exclusively by the mark applied for, as opposed to any other mark which might also be present, as originating from a particular company,” it said in its ruling.

In a few months time the case will return to the UK's High Court, whose judges will decide if Kvikk Lunsj will remain on sale in the UK.

"It is up to the British courts to decide, on the basis of this response, if the form of KitKat chocolate bars can be registered as a trademark or not," the EU court said in a statement.

For now, Kvikk Lunsj loving Brits can breath a sigh of relief, if they can find the product in a UK shop that is. 

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