Cadbury owner demands vegan brand removal

In a recent trademark dispute, Mondelēz International, the owner of well-known brands such as Cadbury and Toblerone, has taken legal action against a small vegan chocolate company, Moo Free. The dispute centres around Moo Free’s White Choccy Snowballs, which are described as gluten-free biscuit-flavoured rice balls coated in dairy-free white chocolate. Mondelēz claims that the use of the term "snowball" infringes upon its trademark rights, leading to a legal letter demanding the removal of Moo Free's products from retail shelves.

Gareth Jenkins, a partner and food and drink specialist at the Intellectual Property law firm Marks & Clerk, commented on the situation. He noted that “protecting the integrity of your registered monopoly is important but can sometimes come across as ‘heavy handed’.” Despite this perception, Jenkins explained that such actions are often not merely aimed at smaller companies like Moo Free. Instead, these measures are about ensuring the owner’s trademark remains robust in the face of potentially larger competitors in the future. He also warned that allowing the use of a registered trademark could lead to diminishing control over it, stating that “allowing use of a registered trade mark runs the risk for the monopoly to narrow and in the worst case, if there are many users of the mark, unenforceable.”

The ongoing legal battle highlights the complexities of trademark laws and the lengths to which established companies will go to protect their branding, even if it involves smaller players in the market.