Mondelēz International Files Lawsuit Against Catherine’s Originals Over O’bar Design
“We stand firmly behind the product and the identity we created,” said Catherine Dodd, founder of British vegan confectionery brand Catherine’s Originals, after Mondelēz International took legal action against the company at the High Court in London. Forbes Česko reported that the multinational conglomerate, which owns the Toblerone brand, filed a lawsuit alleging that the O’bar chocolate bar infringes on its trademark rights by too closely resembling the iconic Swiss confectionery.
had a real Mandela Effect moment earlier which is driving me crazy. I looked up the recipe for ANZAC biscuits and they ALL include coconut. I thought, that must be a modern edition, traditional ANZAC biscuits do not have coconut (they get their name from WWI when ANZAC troops…
The legal dispute centers on the specific visual design of the competing vegan treat. According to Mondelēz International, the O’bar consists of individual segments featuring semi-oval bumps that constitute unauthorized passing off and trademark infringement. The multinational argues that the distinctive design of Toblerone ranks among the most recognizable product shapes globally and in the United Kingdom, having remained in continuous commercial use since 1929.
Defending her product, Catherine Dodd maintained that the shape stems from an independent origin story. Dodd launched the brand in 2021 as a teenager, designing the chocolate segments to reflect the letter O in the brand name Originals. Representing a corporate portfolio that also includes Cadbury and Côte d’Or, Mondelēz International defended its legal steps as a necessary measure to protect its intellectual property portfolio against confusingly similar market competitors.
Previous Toblerone Legal Battles Over Shape Imitations
In 2017, British discount supermarket chain Poundland faced legal warnings from Mondelēz International over the launch of its own imitation product named Twin Peaks, forcing the retailer to delay the release. While Twin Peaks featured a dual-peak structure, classic Toblerone utilizes a continuous row of pointed peaks designed to evoke the Matterhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps.
Unlike the Poundland dispute involving peak configurations, the Catherine’s Originals case highlights a clash over semi-oval humps rather than jagged mountain ridges.
Legal Defense and Corporate Intellectual Property Protection
Catherine’s Originals has firmly rejected the allegations of imitation, pointing to the distinct lettering and branding choices embedded within the product development process.
