A legal fight has broken out in South Africa’s sweets industry after the owners of Big Bom accused a rival brand of selling millions of lollipops in packaging so similar to theirs that consumers could be misled.
At the centre of the dispute are Big Bom and Pop Gum, whose colourful wrappers became the focus of an urgent Johannesburg High Court case.
Saday Import & Export and Americandy Manufacturers, the companies behind Big Bom, brought the court application.
Their complaint was directed at Zimglo, which imported three shipping containers carrying 5,650 cases of Pop Gum lollipops between April and July.The dispute escalated on August 14 when Big Bom’s owners discovered Pop Gum products on sale in Soweto.
The applicants argued that Pop Gum had copied distinctive packaging associated with their registered trademarks, including Zombie Sour Double Gum and Doble Chicle.
They feared shoppers looking for Big Bom products could mistakenly purchase Pop Gum.
Judge Leicester Adams agreed that the resemblance was serious enough to justify court intervention.
The judgment noted that Zimglo had undertaken to resolve the issue, making further court intervention unnecessary.
Before giving the undertaking, Zimglo proposed selling its stock until December 31 and introducing new packaging from January. Big Bom’s owners rejected the proposal, arguing that millions of products would remain on shelves. Court papers indicated that about 4.5-million lollipops would have entered circulation under that arrangement. Zimglo later cancelled two additional containers awaiting shipment and undertook to remove the products from the market.
However, the judge remained unconvinced. Evidence presented showed that Pop Gum products were being found at retailers even after demands had been made to stop selling them.
Adams said that allowing competing products to use nearly identical packaging could erode the identity Big Bom had built over more than two decades.
The court granted an interim interdict preventing Zimglo and the other respondents from importing, distributing, stocking or selling Pop Gum products in the disputed packaging. They were also ordered either to remove the infringing marks or surrender materials on which the marks could not be removed.
In addition, Zimglo must provide a sworn statement within 10 days of the October 5 judgment detailing how many of the disputed lollipops entered South Africa, who received them and how much stock remains.
It was also ordered to pay the applicants’ legal costs.
The order is temporary while Big Bom’s owners pursue final relief through legal proceedings that must be filed in 20 days.
- A legal fight has broken out in South Africa’s sweets industry after the owners of Big Bom accused a rival brand of selling millions of lollipops in packaging so similar to theirs that consumers could be misled.
- At the centre of the dispute are Big Bom and Pop Gum, whose colourful wrappers became the focus of an urgent Johannesburg High Court case.
- Saday Import & Export and Americandy Manufacturers, the companies behind Big Bom, brought the court application.
- Their complaint was directed at Zimglo, which imported three shipping containers carrying 5,650 cases of Pop Gum lollipops between April and July.The dispute escalated on August 14 when Big Bom’s owners discovered Pop Gum products on sale in Soweto.
- The applicants argued that Pop Gum had copied distinctive packaging associated with their registered trademarks, including Zombie Sour Double Gum and Doble Chicle.
