Nespresso, a Nestle group company, filed a trademark lawsuit against Peet’s Coffee over the coffee chain’s capsules.
As reported by Reuters, last year Nespresso claimed that the design and elements of the capsule’s branding was causing consumer confusion while duping customers into thinking the product was from Nespresso.
The company also said that coffee chain used the capsules to create a false association with its brand and inaccurately advertised that they were compatible with Nespresso machines.
Peet’s denied the allegations saying that Nespresso’s trademark claim for its capsule design was not valid, since the company’s patents for its capsule system have already expired.
Peet’s also said that the “Nespresso” name had become generic name for the “category of single-serve espresso systems, machines, and capsules”.
Though Nespresso also alleged that Peet’s had already caused confusion while referring to customer reviews on the internet that called Peet’s products as “Nespresso pods” or “Nespresso capsules.”
While there has been no legal resolution to the argument, both companies agreed to settle their dispute outside of court, reported Reuters news agency.
The companies agreed for the case to be dismissed with no chance of the claim being filed again.
The companies had agreed to “amicably resolve” the dispute but declined to comment further on the settlement, said Reuters.
Generic trademark
In the past, several brands have lost their trademark suits due to becoming “genericised” or a part of generic lingo.
Now generic terms, words such as Jet Ski, Jacuzzi, Xerox and Velcro, all started off as brand names before becoming generic.
Now in the age of instant communication and internet, brands are more likely to lose their trademarks faster.
Pilates is one such example in the modern years that lost its trademark just 10 years in to its existent.
