Shape matters, says Nestle

Nestle has been actively trying to prevent its rivals from using designs similar to its Kit Kat product and has now taken legal action against local company Petra Foods.The Swiss nutrition giant is claiming that Petra Foods' product "Take-it" carries a similar feel to its chocolate bar Kit Kat.According to Nestle, it has trademarked its "two-fingers" and "four-fingers" shapes of Kit Kat in Singapore and in several other countries. Petra Foods wafer bar Take-it, says Nestle, infringes on this trademark.In a 76-page document filed with the High Court, Nestle stated that the Take-it bar's "shape, size, weight, finishing, proportions, look and feel were deliberately chosen" to mirror the Kit Kat.Petra defended itself saying that its chocolate wafers were branded with "Delfi's Take-it" and not Kit Kat's promoted tagline "Have a break, have a Kit Kat" . Petra claims it did not market the shape of the bar, which bore resemblance to the Kit Kat product.Petra Foods is also counter-suing Nestle over the validity of the two-finger and four-finger trademarks and wants them cancelled.Neither Petra Foods nor Nestlé could be reached for comment at the time of publishing.This is not the first battle Nestlé has waged over Kit Kat. Nestlé last won a legal battle against Cadbury over trademarking the four-fingered, three-dimensional shape of the former's Kit Kat product. Cadbury's argument was that the shape is a general one that could not be trademarked. This most recent ruling was made this year.