Iglo loses lawsuit over Käpt'n Iglo
Beard and cap are not exclusive features of Captain Iglo: The Hamburg frozen food manufacturer Iglo has failed in court in its attempt to have its Cuxhaven-based competitor Appel Feinkost banned from using a similar advertising figure.
The Munich Regional Court dismissed the Iglo lawsuit on Thursday. Iglo had accused Appel Feinkost of misleading consumers by confusing the two figures. The judges did not agree. The judgment is not yet final.
According to the ruling, Appel Feinkost did not copy Käpt'n Iglo, even though both advertising figures are older men with beards wearing caps. The judges pointed out the differences: The caps are different - in one case a captain's cap, in the other an Elbe pilot's cap.
The Appel character is therefore not wearing a blue suit like Captain Iglo in most of the pictures, but a gray suit, as the court announced after the verdict was handed down. And unlike Captain Iglo, the Appel figure is also not wearing a white turtleneck sweater and a white T-shirt, "but a checked vest with a tie and a silk scarf", according to the court.
The Appel figure is therefore not a sailor, but a "well-off gentleman in an elegant three-piece suit". Accordingly, the judges see no risk of confusion and therefore no misleading of buyers of frozen fish products. (SDA)
