08

2015

Fall

January 21

Submitted to:
Ms. Heide Jill Vanessa L. Sierra
Instructor
Management 36
Submitted by:
Cuenca, Joben Vernan
Emperado, Kirk Philip
Gaitera, Hannah Jhania
Marias, Quiro John
Sung, Cecil Anne
Tan, Wilson

STRENGTHS
Cadbury is known for its
purple packaging for
almost 100 years.
Cadbury is a company,
which is reputed
internationally as the
topmost chocolate provider
in the world.

The brand is well known to

people & they can easily
identify it from others.

WEAKNESSES
Their trademark
registration lacks
specificity, clarity and
precision.
They lost in the legal test
case against Nestle
They have a vague or
overreaching trademark
protections.

Cadbury the world leaders

in chocolate, is a wellknown force in marketing
and distribution.

I.SWOT
Analysis

II.
Central

Users have a positive

perception about the
qualities of the brand.
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
They can use this
Presence of other chocolate
circumstance to further
competitors such as Nestle
improve and strengthen
using the same color
their brand identity.
packaging.
They can have more
There exists no brand
innovations and added
loyalty in the chocolate
features in their product in
market and consumers
order to compete in the
frequently shift their
highly competitive market
brands.
There is a lot of potential
New brands are coming
for growth and a huge
and existing brands are
population who do not eat
introducing new variants to
chocolates even today that
add up to an already
can be converted as new
overcrowded market.
users.
Problemc
It is unethical for Cadbury to file a trademark for a color, because
color is universal and the specific color Pantone 2865c was not

created especially for Cadbury. It only became known as

Cadbury's color because of the dominance of the brand in
markets for a long period of time.
The central problem is that Cadbury needs to find a way to
legally and ethically protect its trademark, especially since its
initial trademark registration lacked specificity, clarity and
precision.
Minor Problems
In addition to the main problem, there are also several other
minor problems that Cadbury faced:
1. Competitors might seize the opportunity to produce
products having similar packaging.
2. Their lack of creative effort to protect their commercial
interest.
3. They incurred financial losses due to the litigation.
4. Stiff competition with companies like Nestle puts Cadbury
at risk for future lawsuits, since litigation is a common
strategy used by large companies to eliminate competition.
IV.

Objectives

In studying this case, we aim to achieve the following objectives:

1. To come up with a system that mediates both parties in
their existing conflict
2. To come up with solutions that will benefit Cadbury in terms
of protecting its commercial interest
3. To constitute actions in restricting any parties from
monopolizing a certain market by registering a color as a
trademark

V.

Alternative Courses of Action

1. Revise their trademark registration and make it more
specific in compliance to the law. Re-register their revised
trademark application.
Advantages:
Competitors will honor the revision of the trademark
as it is in compliance to the law.
Their commercial interest will be protected.
Eliminates or reduce existing conflict between involved
parties.
They can rebuild their brand identity and reputation
that was lost after the case closed.
Theyll have the chance to own the color brand
association they have been using for decades now.
Disadvantages:
Additional costs will be incurred.
It might still contain loopholes that competitors could
use against them
Nestle and other companies may oppose their
registration again.
2. Create marketing campaigns that highlight the strong
association of Cadbury products with their traditional
Purple packaging. In addition to that, the company should
strengthen other marketing measures to mitigate the risk of
losing their market share to competitors.

Advantages:
Increase publicity.
Increase sales and brand identity.
Disadvantages:
There is a possibility that this strategy will not be
effective.
Higher budget will be allocated to marketing and sales
strategies.
3. Find other ways to legally protect their product from
imitators and not only their packaging. The company may
file other trademarks that are associated with their product.
Advantages:
Increases protection of their product from brand and
packaging imitators and counterfeiters.
Mitigates future legal risks.
Disadvantages:
It may take time to develop and process trademarks and
other legal measures
There is no guarantee that these legal measures will still
fool-proof.
4. Expand their product lines such as coffee and pastries.
Advantages:
They will be able to attract more customers
Diversification is another way of mitigating the risks of
having a narrow product offering.

 It is another avenue to gain profits and offset losses

from competition and litigation fees.
Disadvantages:
As new entrants in this market, they might not keep up
with those competitors who had been in this field for a
long time
5. Innovate existing products to entice non-chocolate eating
consumers to patronize their product
Advantages:
It could be an avenue to gain more profit and offset
losses from competition.
Disadvantages:
It will take time and efforts to conduct research and
development of innovated products.

VI. Recommendation
If Cadbury will make an appeal in their attempt to register
Pantone 2685C as their trademark, there is a higher possibility of
losing again. The group highly suggests that they should stop
their efforts on registering the entire color but rather come up
with another trademark since there is a need to protect their
commercial interest.
The underlying factor in this cases main problem is Cadburys
attempt to register the color itself as a trademark, which is
practically unethical because color cannot be owned by any
person or entity. It is only through the companys dominance in
the market that the color became almost absolutely associated
with their products. However, allowing Cadbury to own a
trademark to that specific color will give their company an unfair
advantage over others. Furthermore, it may cause great
confusion in future lawsuits as with regards to the boundaries of
the trademark.

Our group therefore recommends that Cadbury should apply for

a more specific trademark, and not just a trademark allowing
them exclusive rights to the color Pantone 2685C. This specific
trademark may include a package design that incorporates the
color as its dominant marking. It should include other unique
markings that will truly make the trademark the companys own.
Additionally, to solve their minor problems, our group also
suggests that the company should strengthen their marketing
efforts, especially in creating a stronger association with the
color Pantone 2685C with their brand. This may help disqualify
the efforts of other companies who try to incorporate the color
into their product packaging to try to emulate Cadburys
product, making consumers think that the quality is the same.
Lastly, the company should create other protective measures, in
addition to trademark registrations, that will allow them to
protect their commercial interests in other business forefronts.
VII. Conclusion
Our group has found that many companies use predatory
marketing strategies to out-play competition. One common
strategy is to bury competition with lawsuits and litigations to
drain their resources and defocus efforts on marketing their
product like a distraction. This strategy, although traditionally
practiced, is downright unethical.
On the other hand, many companies like Cadbury try to take
advantage of the law to create unfair competitive advantage in
favor of their company. In their attempt to register the color
Pantone 2685C as a brand trademark, we see an underlying
intention to monopolize the color, despite the fact that they did
not invent the color itself.
The Cadbury vs Nestle case is a real-life example of unfair and
unethical business practices in the treatment of competition.