Court bans “Dubai chocolate” that doesn’t come from Dubai

Many retailers have wanted to benefit from the hype surrounding “Dubai chocolate” in recent months. Numerous manufacturers have brought their own versions of the trendy product onto the market. However, the copycat products usually did not actually come from Dubai. The Cologne regional court has now banned two suppliers of “Dubai chocolate” from selling them because of misleading information. This is reported by the trade journal “” and the online magazine for lawyers “” with reference to two corresponding judgments (ref. 33 O 513/24 and ref. 33 O 525/24).

The products in question were sold under the names “Dubai Chocolate” and “Dubai Chocolate” as well as “The Taste of Dubai”. The court saw this as misleading about the true origin of the products. The design of the candy ensures that the average consumer can assume that it was really made in Dubai.

The English-language product names and descriptions in particular would contribute to this impression. It doesn’t help much that Turkey is mentioned as the place of production in the small print on the back. The company that sued in the two current cases was MBG International Premium Brands, which itself imports chocolate products from Dubai.

These first legal decisions on the “Dubai chocolate” case could be followed by others. Plaintiff MBG also wants to take action against other providers. In mid-December, the importer Andreas Wilmers also warned the discounters Lidl and Aldi, who also included “Dubai chocolate” in their range. Chocolate manufacturer Lindt has already renamed its version “Dubai Style Chocolade” as a precaution.

So can the famous pistachio cream chocolate only be called “Dubai chocolate” in the future if it comes from there? That is not said. “First of all, it should be noted that these are two specific individual case decisions,” says a specialist lawyer for intellectual property protection from the Düsseldorf law firm Terhaag & Partner, describing the judgments. Even according to the arguments of the Cologne Regional Court, for other products it would depend on the exact design and advertising. In addition, other courts could also take a different legal opinion, says Schwarz. “It is also conceivable that another court will assume that the consumer understands the term ‘Dubai chocolate’ understands a type of chocolate and no indication of origin.”