From Stephanie Bodoni (Bloomberg) comes news that the High Court, England and Wales, has ruled today that Procter & Gamble's Regular Pringles products are not "chips". Since they are made from flour and not finely sliced whole potatoes, they are not "potato crisps" (the English term for what American terminology deems "chips" and can therefore be sold without the addition of value added tax (VAT).

The interest in this decision is not in the tax aspects but the trade mark side to it. When one is seeking to determine whether goods are identical, similar or different for trade mark registration, opposition or infringement purposes, the fact that they are treated differently for VAT purposes may be to a small extent persuasive before OHIM, a national office or a court.