Judge denies Kroger’s request for injunction against Lidl
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a federal judge in Richmond, Va., has denied Kroger’s request to prohibit Lidl from selling Lidl’s own store brand Preferred Selection products.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, a federal judge in Richmond, Va., has denied Kroger’s request to prohibit Lidl from selling Lidl’s own store brand Preferred Selection products. Kroger maintains that Lidl copied the logo of Kroger’s Private Selection store brand and infringed on Kroger’s trademark. Kroger filed suit June 30 seeking to stop Lidl from using the Preferred Selection logo.
After a day of testimony in which both sides presented expert witnesses who surveyed consumers to gauge confusion over the product logos, U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. denied Kroger’s request for a preliminary injunction and set the case for a bench trial January 11, 2018.
“I think the public interest lies in competition,” Gibney said in considering whether an injunction was merited. While he stated that the logos look “somewhat alike,” he noted that the words “private” and “preferred” have different meanings.
Germany-based Lidl, which has more than 10,000 stores in Europe, has so far opened 17 stores in the United States. The company plans to have more than 100 stores open by summer 2018. Cincinnati-based Kroger operates 2,800 supermarkets in the United States under 24 banners, including Kroger, Harris Teeter, and Ralph’s.