A Gloucestershire dental practice has defeaed fashion chain giant Lacoste in a dispute over a crocodile trademark.

The two dentists – Drs. Tim Rumney and Simon Moore – were challenged by the French clothing giant after using a grinning reptile as the logo on their office’s welcome sign.

Lacoste claimed the cartoon crocodile was too similar to their own globally recognised logo, and could cause confusion among shoppers which could damage their business.

The dentists represented themselves at an initial hearing in May at the Intellectual Property Office in Newport, where Judge Ann Corbett ruled in the practice’s favor.

But Lacoste’s legal team filed an appeal, which was finally rejected late last year.