Mars claims the illustrations are too similar to its own M&Ms characters that appear in various M&Ms trademarks registered during 2000.
Since Nestle bought the brand from Eden Vale last year, it has added members to the Munch Bunch gang and is attempting to obtain trademarks for the names and images of eight of them. The gang includes Sally Strawberry, Rozzy Raspberry and Poppy Pear.
Four of the eight images have been examined by the UK Patent Office.
The other four are still being examined, but Mars is expected to oppose them once they have appeared in advertising.
Nestle has built its entire marketing strategy for Munch Bunch around the colourful characters, who appear on the packaging, in the ads, and even on trolleys in Sainsbury's.
If Mars is successful in stopping Nestle trademarking the characters, it would allow other companies to develop similar characters of their own.
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