The four year battle over the use of a crocodile as a logo is officially over. Britain's trademark watchdogs rejected a bid by French fashion company Lacoste to prevent two British dentists using a crocodile similar to its own logo as their company symbol.

The French label filed a lawsuit claiming that the grinning reptile used by The Dental Practice in Cheltenham, western England, was too much like its globally-recognized green croc.

The UK Intellectual Property Office last Thursday dismissed the claim that the dentists' crocodile could confuse shoppers and potentially harm Lacoste's business.

The logo used by the Dental Practice in Cheltenham, features the right side of a crocodile with two feet visible and its tail sharply curled to the left. They tried to register the logo in 2004 but lawyers for Lacoste contested it.

Lacoste was ordered to pay US2,900 to cover the dental practice's legal costs.