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Apr 15, 2015
By Vincent Teh, KASS International, Singapore
By Amahl Weeramantry, KASS International, Singapore

No Break for Kit Kat


By Vincent Teh, KASS International, Singapore, By Amahl Weeramantry, KASS International, SingaporeIn the recent Singapore High Court decision for Societe Des Produits Nestlé SA and another v Petra Foods Ltd and another, Nestlé’s attempt to enforce its trade dress (shape and packaging of its Kit Kat chocolate) against Petra Foods (“Petra”) was cruelly thwarted. In a 150-page dress down, Justice Cheng Seng Onn provided a great analysis on why enforcing your trade dress may not be a walk in the park.

Nestlé has produced Kit Kat chocolate bars since 1937 and had registered the shape of both the 2 and 4 fingered Kit Kat bars as trademarks in Singapore in 2000. Nestlé brought Petra to court for producing, importing and selling the “Delfi Take-It” chocolate bar, which has striking similarities to Kit Kat in both the shape of the chocolate and the packaging. Accordingly, Nestlé claimed that Petra had infringed (i) their registered trademarks and (ii) unregistered well-known marks for the shape and representation of its Kit Kat bars, as well as (iii) their copyright on the design of  read more