a giant bread company has taken a high court action against a competitor firm over what it says is an imitation of its packaging for brown bread. since many years, mccambridge is the market dominating company in the sector of brown soda bread. mccambridge is suing brennans amid saying that consumers have been puzzled due to their &lsquolookalike&rsquo packaging. it also claims that brennans is doing an unfair commercial practice, and it is in breach of copyright. however, brennans denies that it is trying to &lsquopass off&rsquo its product as that of mccambridge&39s. a small replica supermarket shelf has been set up in the courtroom in order to illustrate the arguments. opening the case, anthony aston, who is the counsel for mccambridge, said in 1945, mccambridge started as a grocery shop in ranelagh that is in dublin and closed the same in 1985. then it emphasized on the sale of ice cream and bread, and the bread business took off. he further said the brown soda bread is a market leader for that kind of product. brennans was started in 1960 and is the leader in the bread market with a distinct brand and trademarked slogan. for several years, it had also been selling brown soda bread. in 2008, mccambridge altered its packaging for brown soda bread, and in january of 2011, brennans changed its packaging for brown bread with that is much similar to the packaging of mccambridge. mccambridge says customers are unlikely to examine the packaging in great detail and will make a purchasing decision based on a general appearance, instead. it also asserts brennans is doing an unfair commercial practice and causing consumers to purchase a product thinking it to be something else. it claims an infringement of copyright, as well. on the other hand, brennans denies the claims and mentions that its packaging is adequately different to allow consumers to differentiate between the two products. michael mccambridge, a company chairman, said he first came to know about the brennans packaging when he saw brennans product on a shelf of supermarket that was mixed in with his own product. he further said the reason he did not complain and waited for six weeks because his view was &lsquosubjective&rsquo. however, after further examining the packaging and meetings with supermarket buyers, it became clear that even those with experience of 30 years were being confused with the two products, he said. he further mentioned it was his belief that, in 2008, brennans started a move to get closer to the mccambridge product. however, brennans did not succeed until it modified its packaging again, much similar to mccambridge. the court also heard that brennans was offering its brown soda bread for an average cost of &euro1.25, but it was frequently priced at &euro1 during promotions. the mccambridge sells bread for &euro1.69. however, michael mentioned, in the past, the cost difference had no impact on sales. in a week, mccambridge bread sells on average 162,000 loaves. source of information httpwww.rte.ienews20110721304027mccambridgebrennans
