Kroger’s Trademark Suit Against Lidl Dismissed

The Kroger Co. and Lidl US have agreed to dismiss a federal case that Kroger brought against the German deep-discounter for trade infringement. Kroger claimed in its suit that Lidl’s Preferred Selection private brand and logo copied its own Private Selection line.

Each grocer will pay its own legal costs, The Virginian-Pilot reported, citing court filings.

Carl Tobias, of the University of Richmond’s School of Law, told the newspaper that Kroger may have decided to end the suit after Judge John Gibney, of the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia, ruled against the company’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have barred Lidl from using the Preferred Selection logo, finding that Kroger wasn't likely to succeed on the merits and suffer irreparable harm.

“We look forward to more store openings, and are pleased to continue to offer our customers Lidl’s Preferred Selection, which was recently awarded by the editors of [Progressive Grocer sister publication] Store Brands the Top Innovation Award of 2017,” Lidl spokesman Will Harwood told The Virginian-Pilot.