Ferrero wins landmark ruling

Ferrero, the Italian confectioner, says it has won a landmark court decision in China against a domestic rival for imitating its signature gold-wrapped Rocher chocolate, the Financial Times reports.

The makers of a praline advertised in the UK as essential for an embassy soire praised Italian diplomacy after the Supreme Court in Beijing fined Montresor (Zhangjiagang) Food 500,000 yuan, and ordered it to modify its packaging after a four-year legal battle.

"This is an encouraging step and we will now be following the enforcement of the decision closely," said Alessandro Cagli, a Ferrero spokesman.

Montresor, based near Shanghai, maintained that it had designed its packaging independently in 1990. It said it had not seen a Ferrero Rocher before 1993, though the Italian company says it began selling in China in 1984. Montresor, which is owned by the giant Liangfeng food group, could not be reached for comment after the verdict.

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