Editing Lindt (section)

===Expansion===
In 1994, Lindt & Sprüngli acquired the Austrian chocolatier Hofbauer Österreich and integrated it, along with its Küfferle brand, into the company. In 1997 and 1998, respectively, the company acquired the Italian chocolatier [[Caffarel]] and the American chocolatier [[Ghirardelli Chocolate Company|Ghirardelli]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=13 January 1998|title=Spotlight: Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. Is Sold Again|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jan-13-fi-7689-story.html|access-date=19 June 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203150/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jan-13-fi-7689-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ghirardelli Chocolate Sold|url=https://apnews.com/140837168b11f1fbf37475d914829c70|access-date=19 June 2020|website=AP NEWS|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203655/https://apnews.com/140837168b11f1fbf37475d914829c70|url-status=live}}</ref> and integrated both of them into the company as wholly-owned subsidiaries. Since then, Lindt & Sprüngli has expanded the once-regional Ghirardelli to the international market.

On 17 March 2009, Lindt announced the closure of fifty of its eighty retail boutiques in the United States because of weaker demand in the wake of the [[late-2000s recession]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wiggins|first1=Jenny|title=Lindt closes lid on most of its US stores|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ebefec5a-131c-11de-a170-0000779fd2ac.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ebefec5a-131c-11de-a170-0000779fd2ac.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=3 January 2016|work=Financial Times|date=17 March 2009}}{{subscription required}}</ref>

On 26 March 2012, the Supreme Court in [[Vienna]] ruled in a decade-long case against [[Austria|Austrian]] manufacturer Hauswirth that the golden chocolate bunny with a red ribbon, also known as the Gold Bunny, may only be sold in Austria in this form by Lindt & Sprüngli.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-03-26 |title=Osterhasen-Streit: Lindt gewinnt |url=https://kurier.at/wirtschaft/osterhasen-streit-lindt-gewinnt/772.261 |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=kurier.at |language=de |archive-date=21 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221221914/https://kurier.at/wirtschaft/osterhasen-streit-lindt-gewinnt/772.261 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 24 May 2012, Lindt & Sprüngli was defeated at the [[European Court of Justice]] in its attempt to obtain trademark protection for the Gold Bunny throughout Europe. In the application proceedings, which had been ongoing since 2004, the company was unable to prove that the average European consumer would identify the manufacturer of the bunny from its appearance. EU-wide protection was therefore not possible. On 28 March 2013, the Federal Court of Justice in [[Karlsruhe]] dismissed an appeal by Lindt & Sprüngli against a ruling by the [[Frankfurt|Frankfurt am Main]] [[Oberlandesgericht|Higher Regional Court]] allowing the Franconian company Riegelein to sell a sitting chocolate bunny. The German manufacturer offers its bunny in a slightly darker, bronze-coloured foil. The [[Federal Court of Justice]]'s decision ruled out any likelihood of confusion between the two products.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Verbraucher: Goldhase von Lindt muss Konkurrenz dulden - WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/newsticker/news3/article114849775/Goldhase-von-Lindt-muss-Konkurrenz-dulden.html |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=DIE WELT |language=de |archive-date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201033718/https://www.welt.de/newsticker/news3/article114849775/Goldhase-von-Lindt-muss-Konkurrenz-dulden.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 18 December 2012, it was announced that Lindt & Sprüngli had lost a lawsuit against Haribo before the [[Cologne]] Regional Court due to the similarity between the Lindt & Sprüngli "Lindt Teddy" chocolate bear and the Haribo Gold Bears, and had to withdraw the chocolate bears from the market.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-12-18 |title=Lindts Schoko-Teddy sieht Haribos Goldbären zu ähnlich |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/urteil-zu-markenrecht-lindts-schoko-teddy-sieht-haribos-goldbaeren-zu-aehnlich-1.1553909 |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Süddeutsche.de |language=de}}</ref> However, in April 2014, the Cologne Higher Regional Court overturned the decision, allowing the bears to continue to be sold for the time being.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radomsky |first=Stephan |date=2015-09-23 |title=BGH-Urteil - Lindt-Teddy gewinnt gegen Haribos Goldbär |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/bgh-urteil-treffen-sich-zwei-baeren-vor-gericht-1.2660710 |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=Süddeutsche.de |language=de}}</ref> The Cologne Higher Regional Court then dismissed the Bonn-based gummy bear manufacturer's lawsuit. Haribo appealed against this decision to the Federal Court of Justice. This was rejected by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe in September 2015. The judges ruled that Haribo's trademark rights were not infringed by the "Lindt Teddy".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-23 |title=Lindt gewinnt Goldbärenstreit gegen Haribo vor Bundesgerichtshof |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/lindt-gewinnt-goldbaerenstreit-gegen-haribo-vor-bundesgerichtshof-13818966.html |access-date=2025-05-23 |website=FAZ.NET |language=de}}</ref>

On 14 July 2014,  Lindt bought [[Russell Stover Candies]], maker of Whitman's Chocolate, for about $1 billion, the company's largest acquisition to date.<ref>{{cite web|last1=MacLucas|first1=Neil|title=Lindt & Spruengli to Buy Russell Stover Candies|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/lindt-spruengli-to-buy-russell-stover-candies-1405320538|website=Wall Street Journal|access-date=24 October 2017|date=14 July 2014|archive-date=25 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025022508/https://www.wsj.com/articles/lindt-spruengli-to-buy-russell-stover-candies-1405320538|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Due to the 60% praline market share of Russel Stover, Lindt became the third largest chocolate company in North America, while also having a presence with its other brands.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-07-14 |title=Lindt & Sprüngli kauft die Pralinés von «Forrest Gump» |url=https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/lindt-kauft-praline-produzenten-russell-stover-ld.845424 |access-date=2024-09-16 |work=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |language=de-CH |issn=0376-6829}}</ref>