Lidl Beats Kroger in 1st Round of PL Legal Battle

A federal judge this week rejected Kroger’s bid to make upstart competitor Lidl stop selling products under the Preferred Selection private brand, according to published reports. Cincinnati-based Kroger filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit earlier this month, claiming that Lidl’s brand could be confused with its own Private Selection product line.

Although U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. noted in his Tuesday ruling that the brands’ logos look “somewhat alike,” he found that the terms “private” and “preferred” “don’t … have an identical or similar meaning,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in Richmond, Va., reported. Lidl has chosen the Southeast as the location for the first of its 100 stores slated to open this year along the U.S. East Coast.

In a court filing, German deep-discounter Lidl accused Kroger of “using this lawsuit to try to disrupt the ongoing launch of a new, emerging competitor that offers consumers high-quality products at far lower prices; distract from the positive reviews garnered by Lidl’s launch by painting Lidl as a copycat … and drive up Lidl’s costs by having to defend against Kroger’s spurious claims.”

The bench trial date has been set for Jan. 11.