The 1st Chamber of Corporate Law of the Court of Appeals of the State of São Paulo (TJSP) dismissed an unfair competition lawsuit filed by the company Vigor, based on the trade dress adopted by the company Danone in its Greek yogurt packaging.
According to the reporter judge, Cesar Ciampolini, “the size, relevance and notoriety of the trademarks of both parties, as well as the distinct visual identity between the lids of the pots […] for me indicate that, with no proof of the defendant’s bad faith, what happens between it and the plaintiff is in the field of free competition ”.
The judge understood that the court expert’s report would have general conclusions, which disregarded research with consumers, and that the design of Greek yoghurt packagings would have lost its distinctiveness, given that it is reproduced by other companies in the sector, what prevents their protection.
The TJSP reversed the decision rendered by the lower court, which had found infringement of Vigor’s trade dress and that Danone should be prevented from selling Greek yogurts with a trade dress similar to that of the plaintiff.
1Lawsuit No. 1114879-72.2015.8.26.0100