Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2011; it is a news item in which Nespresso was only considering a lawsuit against Marcilla and the French case against Sara Lee was still pending. The outcome of both disputes is not covered.
There is no doubt that Nespresso’s coffee machines and its capsule business model have been a resounding success in much of the world. Multinational Sara Lee has now joined in, selling single-serve capsules that are compatible with Nespresso machines.
Nespresso is studying the possibility of suing Marcilla (Sara Lee’s coffee brand in Spain) over this, arguing that it is taking advantage of both its alleged patent and its mechanism, and even at a lower price.
Marcilla, however, maintains that its product is within the bounds of legal competition, because it is not the same product: the coffee blend is different and so is the casing.
Sara Lee has already been sued in France over the same issue, and that case is still before the courts.
Only a judge can decide whether this is fair or unfair competition and whether the patent is actually being infringed. Among consumers, though, the debate has split into two very different camps.
Some think Marcilla really is profiting from another brand’s invention. Others think no market is exempt from competition, and that instead of going to court because a competitor is eating into its capsule sales, Nespresso should respond with a pricing strategy and lower the cost of its capsules.
Either way, the controversy is on.
Featured image: Andrzej Barabasz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
