Breadmaker wins stay on packaging injunction

BREAD company Brennans has secured a stay on an injunction which restrained it from selling its wholewheat bread in packaging confusingly similar to that of its rival company McCambridge.

Last week, McCambridge secured the injunction which would have required Brennans to remove its bread in its current packaging from shelves.

The order was to come into effect today but after Brennans indicated it planned to file an appeal, the Supreme Court granted a stay pending the hearing.

Ms Justice Fidelma Macken said the stay is conditional on Brennans bringing forward its appeal with “all due speed and alacrity”.

McCambridge sells its stone-ground wholewheat bread as a rectangular 500g ready-sliced loaf in resealable packaging, with a dark green panel across the front. It brought proceedings against Brennans earlier this year after that company began packaging its own wholewheat bread in similar packaging, also with a green panel across the front.

In a judgment delivered earlier this month, Mr Justice Michael Peart ruled that Brennans packaging was likely to confuse customers. He then granted McCambridge an injunction restraining Brennans from selling its bread in its current packaging.

Yesterday, a three-judge Supreme Court comprising Mrs Justice Fidelma Macken, Mr Justice Liam McKechnie and Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan granted Brennans a stay on the injunction until its appeal against the High Court decision is heard.

John Gordon SC, for Brennans, had argued his client should be entitled to a stay in circumstances where its repackaged product has been on the market for almost a year. He also said High Court judge Mr Justice Peart had said that, as of the conclusion of the hearing in July, McCambridges had not established any discernible damage caused by the sale of Brennans bread in its current packaging.

Mr Gordon said Brennans had rolled out its newly packaged product on January 10 this year, but it had not received any complaint from McCambridge until March.

He said he believed it would be reasonable for the court to afford him a further stay in circumstances where if Brennans had to redesign its packaging now its appeal would become moot.

He told the court: “In circumstances where the product has been on the market since January and where the High Court hasn’t been satisfied McCambridge has suffered any loss, I would say the balance between the parties would favour my client.”

In response, Anthony Aston SC for McCambridge said 12 customers had been called during the High Court case and had given evidence of having set out to purchase McCambridges bread but inadvertently ended up purchasing Brennans bread.