The decision previously handed down by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (a division of the High Court) that Aldi infringed a number of registered designs by M&S directed towards gin bottles containing suspended gold flakes and a light incorporated in the base of the bottle has been upheld by the Court of Appeal, with Lord Justice Arnold, Lord Justice Moylan and Lord Justice Lewison dismissing Aldi’s appeal.

The Enlarged Board held that a European patent application can be refused if it claims the same subject-matter as an existing European patent which has been granted to the same applicant and has the same effective date.

Philip Morris Products S.A. & Philip Morris Limited v Shenzhen Shunbao Technology Co. Ltd