By Daniel Miller PUBLISHED: 10:03 EST, 26 May 2012 | UPDATED: 10:07 EST, 26 May 2012 EU judges have ruled Swiss chocolate-makers Lindt & Spruengli cannot trademark its world famous golden rabbit. The firm, which has been producing the treats since 1952 and claims to sell around 60 million a year, had hoped to stop Austrian rival Hauswirth from producing an almost identical-looking product. But the Luxembourg-based European Union Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld the decision of the EU trademarks agency OHIM, which rejected Lindt's application for a trademark of its sitting bunny shapes wrapped in gold foil with a red ribbon bow tie.
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Swiss firm had hoped to stop Austrian rivals from producing similar product
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EU court rules they had 'failed to establish the marque a marque as an inherent distinctive character'
Rabbit row: The Lindt chocolate bunny (left) and @placeholder firm Hauswirth's rival product