MILAN – Nespresso and Peet’s Coffee informed a Manhattan federal court on October 18th that they have reached an agreement to settle a trademark dispute over Peet’s coffee pods. Nespresso USA Inc. has sued Peet’s Coffee in March last year claiming the company’s coffee pods violate Nespresso’s capsule design trademark rights.
The suit said that Peet’s capsules mislead customers through advertising to believe the pods are compatible with Nestle’s Nespresso machine and that Peet’s capsules were “nearly identical” to Nespresso’s.
Peet’s rejected the allegations saying that Nespresso’s capsule design was not entitled to trademark protection. It also said that Nespresso was using trademark claims to extend a monopoly it had lost when patents covering its capsule system expired.
Peet’s also argued that the “Nespresso” name had become generic for a “category of single-serve espresso systems, machines, and capsules.”
The two companies had already told the court in a joint letter in August that they were working to finalize a settlement.
They have now requested the court to dismiss the case with prejudice, thereby eliminating any possibility of a subsequent filing of the claim.
A spokesperson for Nespresso said on Wednesday that the companies had agreed to “amicably resolve” the dispute outside the court, but declined to say more about the settlement. Representatives for Peet’s reached by Reuters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
