Chocolate firm in unholy row with bishop over rights to the colour purple

The firm said its victory in a dispute with rival Nestlé over purple packaging did not amount to a bid to copyright all shades of purple.

Instead the company said it was merely being done to protect the Cadbury purple associated with its milk chocolate.

“We are not seeking to trademark 50 shades of purple, it is about making sure that the consumer is not confused into thinking this is a Cadbury product – that is the nature of a trademark,” a spokesman for the chocolate company said.

The remarks were made after fair trade company The Meaningful Chocolate Company 
claimed it had changed the colour of its box containing 
religious chocolate Christmas 
tree decorations after receiving legal advice that anything 
that could be interpreted as Cadbury purple should be 
avoided.

The company said the box had been Advent purple – the colour traditionally used in churches during the season of penitence and reflection in the run-up to Christmas.

However it now being changed to what it described as a “warm red”.

“The legal advice was very clear – it was not just purple, it was anything that could be interpreted as Cadbury’s purple, from deep blue to deep red,” David Marshall, from the firm, said.

Mr Marshall was backed by the Bishop of Chelmsford, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, who issued a forthright defence of the 
Church’s right to lay claim to the colour.

The Bishop said: “Cadbury should reflect that before they even existed, the colour purple was around and – perish the thought – after they have gone, it will still be here.

“You may own the rights to purple, but you can’t own the colour.

“Fighting some battles, even ones you win, can actually be demeaning.

“Far better to be generous, then no one loses.”

Cadbury said the Rt Rev Cottrell had got his facts wrong.

“We are not seeking to be precious about the colour purple, we are not seeking to copyright all shades of purple, we are merely seeking to protect the Cadbury purple that is associated with milk chocolate and not all 
other colours,” the spokesman said.

The allusion to the “50 shades” line refers to the best-selling erotic novel which has taken on a life of its own in recent weeks.