Mars bar chocolate war

guido · Site Admin Joined: Oct 18, 2004 Posts: 381 Location: Italy

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Mars has got a break in its decades-old rivalry with Nestle, when an adviser to the European Union's highest court suggested the phrase "Have a Break" was not distinctive enough for a trademark.

Swiss multinational Nestle and privately-held U.S. firm Mars have long battled in the world's supermarkets and courts.

This time, Nestle argues its slogan "Have a break ... Have a Kit Kat" is so famous that "Have a Break" merits it own trademark. Mars has contested Nestle's bid to register the slogan as a trademark in a case that has dragged on for nine years.

A British court sought the advice of the European Court of Justice after Britain's Patent Office rejected the request.

In a first step on Thursday, the court's advocate general reviewed whether "Have a Break" is "inherently distinctive", and decided "The United Kingdom is right to submit that it is not...".

The Luxembourg-based Court usually follows the reasoning of its advocates general. The case will not be decided for months.
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In vino veritas!

paulamathers · Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2006 10:10 pm Post subject:

have a break is definately a kit kat thing, i remember mars having the slogan "a mars a day helps you work, rest and play" which gave the impression that mars bars were good for you! as a kid, i actually believed that and was sadly mistaken for years that because chocolate had milk in, that it was good for you and you should have it as often as possible! how wrong can you get!!!