Pepperidge Farm Sues Trader Joe's Over Copycat Cookie

Pepperidge Farm has sued Trader Joe's for infringing on its trademark for Milano cookies. Milano cookies have been around since 1956, but were only recently trademarked in 2010. Enter Trader Joe's Crispy Cookies, similarly featuring two cookies with a chocolate filling sandwiched in between.

In the complaint filed in the New Haven, Connecticut, federal court, Pepperidge Farm accused Trader Joe's of "damaging its goodwill and confusing shoppers through its sale of Trader Joe's Crispy Cookies," according to Reuters.

Though the Trader Joe's version features more rectangular shaped cookies, in the lawsuit it is said that these cookies mimic "an overall oval shape." Trader Joe's has also been accused of using similar packaging. The complaint reads, "The acts of Trader Joe's have been malicious and calculated to injure Pepperidge Farm, whose Milano has generated hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue in the last decade."

Pepperidge Farm seeks to halt the sales of Trader Joe's Crispy Cookies, in addition to compensatory and punitive damages.