An applicant for a trade mark based on acquired distinctiveness must prove that that mark alone (as opposed to any other mark present on the product) identifies the origin of the goods or services. So said the Court of Justice of the EU in a dispute between Nestlé and Cadbury over the shape of the Kit Kat bar
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Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard, who live-reported on the seminal dispute, unpicks the trials and tribulations of the case and considers its impact
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications