Colin the Caterpillar cake row crumbles

Marks & Spencer and Aldi have reached a settlement in a copyright row over caterpillar cakes.

M&S had accused the German discounter of copying its Colin the Caterpillar cake.

The supermarkets confirmed they had reached a settlement, but declined to give details.

M&S said it was "pleased" with the outcome, and Aldi said its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake was "free" and "looking forward" to seeing his fans.

Aldi stopped selling its cake in February 2021, and in April last year M&S accused the supermarket of infringing its Colin the Caterpillar trademark.

The discounter later brought out a limited edition for charity.

Both supermarkets confirmed on Tuesday that an agreement has been struck but declined to release details of the "confidential" deal.

As first reported by the Telegraph, High Court Judge Timothy John Bowles allowed the legal claim to be withdrawn on Thursday, and it emerged that the retailers had signed a "confidential agreement" over the claim in November.

An M&S spokesman said: "The objective of the claim was to protect the [intellectual property] in our Colin the Caterpillar cake and we are very pleased with the outcome."

Aldi Stores UK said in a tweet: "Getting out early on good behaviour, keep an eye out for Cuthy B this spring".

An Aldi spokesperson said: "Cuthbert is free and looking forward to seeing all his fans again very soon."

Colin the Caterpillar was launched by M&S more than 30 years ago, and has had substantially the same appearance since about 2004, apart from Halloween and Christmas versions.

M&S also has related products such as Connie the Caterpillar.

Colin has been used in charity work, and is central to M&S's partnership with cancer campaign group Macmillan.

The M&S caterpillar is made of sponge cake with milk chocolate and buttercream, decorated with chocolate sweets and a white chocolate face.

M&S was the first retailer to sell a caterpillar cake, but many supermarkets have since come up with similar products.

Other cakes include Waitrose's Cecil, Sainsbury's Wiggles, Tesco's Curly and Asda's Clyde the Caterpillar.

M&S and Aldi are also involved in a separate copyright dispute over allegations the discounter copied an M&S "light-up" gin liqueur product.

The M&S spokesman added: "Like many other UK businesses, large and small, we know the true value and cost of innovation and the enormous time, passion, creativity, energy and attention to detail that goes into designing, developing and bringing a product to market, and building its brand over many years.

"So it is understandable that we want to defend our intellectual property and protect our suppliers, many of them small businesses that have worked with us for decades."