Bread firm entitled to injunction against rival

BREAD company McCambridge is entitled to an injunction against rival Brennans for selling a brown bread product in packaging similar to that used by McCambridge, the High Court has ruled.

Mr Justice Micheal Peart found the Brennans packaging, introduced last January, was likely to confuse consumers and McCambridge was entitled to appropriate injunctions to prevent that.

While he believed Brennans and its advisers genuinely believed the placing of the Brennans name, logo and other features on the packaging would avoid confusion and that they had not set out to deliberately imitate the McCambridge packaging, he found consumers could be confused.

He has adjourned to next week his decision on the precise terms of the injunction to allow lawyers for both sides to consider his finding.

McCambridge, with registered offices at Rathcoole, Co Dublin, had claimed Joseph Brennan Bakeries, trading as Brennans, set out to intentionally confuse McCambridge customers by deliberately copying the packaging of the well-established McCambridge product.

McCambridge has sold Irish Stone-Ground Wholewheat Bread as a rectangular 500g ready-sliced loaf in plastic resealable packaging since 2008 and claimed there was “a confusing similarity” between packaging introduced by Brennans in January last for its wholewheat sliced bread and its packaging.

Brennans denied the claims and contended that its packaging was sufficiently distinctive.

McCambridge had sought injunctions against Brennan’s pending the outcome of a full hearing when other issues, including whether McCambridge is entitled to damages, will be addressed.