Ben & Jerry’s loses bid to halt sales in West Bank

By Jessica DiNapoli and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A U.S. choose on Monday rejected Ben & Jerry’s try and cease its guardian Unilever Plc from permitting its ice cream to be offered within the Israeli-occupied West Financial institution, which Ben & Jerry’s mentioned undermined its values.

U.S. District Choose Andrew Carter in Manhattan mentioned Ben & Jerry’s didn’t deserve an injunction to halt ice cream gross sales and advertising as a result of it didn’t present it could endure irreparable hurt, or that clients can be confused.

Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever on July 5, saying the sale of its Israeli enterprise to native licensee Avi Zinger violated the settlement beneath which Unilever purchased the Burlington, Vermont-based firm in 2000.

The sale got here almost a yr after Ben & Jerry’s determined to finish gross sales in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, saying it was “inconsistent” with the values and social mission it retained the proper to advertise.

Unilever countered that Ben & Jerry’s had no energy to cease the sale of the Israeli enterprise, and the sale couldn’t be undone as a result of it had closed in late June.

The bizarre dispute has shone a highlight on Unilever’s objective of giving its greater than 400 manufacturers social missions and objective

Carter rejected as “too speculative” the concept clients can be confused if Zinger provided new merchandise conveying a message that may battle with Ben & Jerry’s personal.

“Ben & Jerry’s has provided no proof of such confusion or the affect of the alleged confusion,” Carter wrote.

The choose famous that merchandise offered within the West Financial institution would use Hebrew and Arabic emblems, not English language emblems.

Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Unilever’s manufacturers additionally embrace Dove cleaning soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Vaseline pores and skin lotion.

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Modifying by David Gregorio)