A US court on Monday rejected the Ben & Jerry's request for an injunction stopping parent company Unilever from selling ice cream with its brand name in Judea and Samaria, Reuters reported.
District Judge Andrew Carter ruled that Ben & Jerry's had not proven that its brand would suffer significant harm or that customers would be confused by the continued sale of the ice cream in Jewish communities over the 'green line,' and therefore no injunction was warranted.
On July 5, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever in a bid to block the sale of the Israeli business to Zinger, saying Unilever had guaranteed Ben & Jerry's the right to protect its brand when buying the company in 2000.
The sale would allow Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in Judea and Samaria, circumventing Ben & Jerry’s controversial boycott of Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, which caused an uproar last year.
Ben & Jerry's lawyer Shahmeer Halepota said in court that Zinger could produce new products with the "exact opposite stance," causing consumer confusion.
"Instead of Peace Pops, you could make 'Tank Pops,'" Halepota said, and shoppers would see both walking down a grocery store aisle.
Judge Carter was dismissive of such concerns in a hearing earlier this month, saying: "I don't hear anything saying that there is anything imminent. It doesn't seem ... anything's going to happen in the next couple of weeks."