The Seoul Central District Court has convicted Lotte Confectionery, an arm of Lotte Group, of copying a Japanese snack maker Ezaki Glico's package design.
Last year, the Japanese firm had filed a suit against Lotte Confectionery asking it to ban sales of Pepero Premier, reported Yonhap News Agency.
The Pepero Premier's packaging was dubbed by the Japanese company a copy of its Baton d'or's box design. It appealed for recalling and discarding all the existing products.
Both the products are chocolate-covered biscuit sticks. They are packed in a tall and curvy box sporting wavy edges.
The court said: "Lotte's and Glico's products are snacks of a similar shape and form, and since the two firms are rivals in the same industry, it can be said that Lotte's manufacturing and sales of the Pepero Premier may have an adverse effect on Glico's business."
However, Lotte is yet to decide on filing an appeal against the latest court decision and ruled out any negative effects out of it on its overall revenue.
A Lotte official said: "The product in question was a limited edition lineup that had been sold ahead of Valentine's Day last year and is currently not produced, so the court sentence is not likely to impact any of the company's sales."
