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WE COULD BE about to see a flood of new four-finger chocolate bars to rival Kit Kat come onto the market, after Nestlé suffered a big blow in a long-running court battle to protect the shape of its iconic chocolate bar.
The advocate-general for the European Court of Justice has ruled that Nestlé’s attempts to trademark the ‘four finger’ design of Kit Kat don’t hold up under EU law.
It follows a court challenge by rival Cadbury, which opposed Nestlé’s attempt to trademark the Kit Kat design when it filed its request back in 2010.
The decision means rivals are theoretically free to launch their own four finger chocolate bars without fear of getting tied up in the courts.
The Kit Kat design has barely changed since launching in 1935 and Nestlé sold £40 million (€55 million) worth of Kit Kats in the UK every year between 2008 and 2010, according to the Guardian.
A spokesperson for Nestlé told Business Insider via email:
Nestlé will review the Advocate General’s Opinion with interest and look forward to the full decision of the Court. KIT KAT is much loved and its unique shape, which has been used for 80 years, is well known by consumers.”
It’s not the first time Cadbury and Nestlé have faced each other in the courts. In 2013 Nestlé won a long running legal battle to stop Cadbury trademarking the specific hue of purple that runs across all its branding.
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This job plan will be forgotten in 1 year time and the unemployment rate will be pretty much the same. To sell smoke at long term is a very typical strategy from politicians across Europe.
Will there be 100,000 people left in Ireland in 4 years?
we wont be here anyway!!
Looking like Me and family mat not be
Might be going that way myself.
Austerity = no growth = no jobs = emigration.
100000 jobs over 4 years where and even if there is no increase in unemployment it will still leave 350000 unemployed.
Howlin will be jumping up and down on his biscuit tin today lecturing us in that pandering condescending way with 5 pints of complan kenny by his side
Funny but I can feel a referendum in the air
If this government was serious about creating jobs they would tear up their last (anti-growth) budget and start again with a budget that favoured growth in the real economy rather than protecting the interests of the public sector & bank bondholders.
Attached: Why Government attempts to create employment do more harm than good.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577197044156250870.html
“Government failure is always used as an excuse for government expansion. Government thrives on crisis and incompetence.”
— Jim Babka
Last week: TheJournal Commenters complain that the government isn’t doing enough for the unemployed to get them back into work.
This week: The government does something for the unemployed and commenters still aren’t happy.
As per usual everything the government does is wrong, yet if they don’t do anything that’s wrong too! Best thing is that none of ye have seen the plan yet and still are complaining about it. Forest of whinge comment from last week springs to mind!
Sounds very promising.Yet all their promises came to fuck all.Dont forget the usual smokescreens for the bondholder payouts.Another big payout soon.
What a joke and Another PR stunt! Every other policy being pursued by te government is causing job losses.. ie all the extra taxes and charges etc etc
this is another load of horse manure being told to us by this goverment.
Ah, the long awaited 5 point plan for jobs……
They wouldn’t know a 5 point plan if it hit them straight in the face.
That photograph says it all…..
100000 is a low ambition target. Half that amount will be lost due to closures during the same period. I would like to see Richard Bruton and co challenging themselves to set the target much higher. It is better to set high targets that may not be achieved rather than lower ones that have a good chance of being met.
have your say