A PORTHMADOG company which won a copyright battle with Aldi has been hit with online abuse.

Triclimb partners Jolene and Peter Barton and designer Christine Dunford were shocked when their indoor climbing triangle was advertised by Aldi, but the supermarket withdrew the product and Triclimb said they were “thankful”, however, they have received negative comments online following Aldi’s U-turn.

Triclimb made the first safety-tested Pikler indoor climbing triangle to encourage early years development and movement.

They accept the concept is not new, “but we created the first design like this that passed EU CE safety testing with some clever features,” they explained.

“Aldi have copied it. The design infringes our registered design; it will cause customer confusion due to the similarities. Moreover they have used our brand name which is a registered trademark and a clear infringement.”

Speaking before Aldi’s U-turn, Peter said: “We’re devastated Aldi would copy our product and use our name.

“We’ve worked so hard on the design and branding of Triclimb and to have it stolen in such a cynical way by such a big name could really damage our business and reputation.

“We have instructed a solicitor but how far we’ll be able to get against Aldi we just don’t know.”

Peter said they tried to speak to Aldi on the phone but “they claimed they didn’t have an email address for their legal department and then had the audacity to say their product was different because it is called Tri-climb instead of Triclimb, the hyphen making the difference. We just felt like they were laughing at us.”

However, Aldi did a U-turn with TriClimb saying: “We’re thankful Aldi have recognised the mistake made and withdrawn the product now. It’s a big relief.”

But on Sunday the company took to social media to say they had “woken up to a small number of very hurtful comments about the Aldi situation”. “‘Triclimb you pr**ks’, ‘You stroppy little huns’, ‘I hope no-one buys from you again’. These are some of the worst examples but there are more, the statement said.

“Trademark, copyright and intellectual property laws exist for good reason. To prevent confusion in the market and protect original designs. Using someone else’s trademark is a crime. People could buy the Aldi version and think it was a Triclimb made by us.

“There are many reasons why this is wrong.

“When you’ve worked on something so hard, poured your heart and soul and sweat into it for four years these things really mean something. TriClimb is our name, it’s a play on words in both the Welsh and English language.

“Please can we ask that you do not direct blame and anger at us, we are not the cause of your frustrations.”We’re a small team here and we proudly support a small British factory and their crafts people in Bridgend.

“As much as we try to shake off the vitriolic comments they do hurt and some are potentially damaging to our business. It’s important to say that we have had an overwhelming amount of positive messages and offers of support. We’d like to say a huge thank you, it really means a lot.”

An Aldi spokesperson said the company aims to provide customers with products of a similar quality to the leading brands, but at a fraction of the price.

“On this occasion, we have decided this product will not go on sale as planned and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused,” they said. “We always listen to feedback and would be pleased to meet with Triclimb.”