Spezi-Zoff in court: Paulaner has Berentzen bottles overturned!

Color war on the drinks shelf

The dispute over a soft drink is causing quite a stir in the courtroom - and not because of the contents, but because of the look! The traditional brewery Paulaner has prevailed in the trademark dispute against Berentzen. The bone of contention: according to the Munich Regional Court, the look of Berentzen's "Mio Mio Cola+Orange Mische" is too close to the well-known Paulaner specialty design.

What does this mean? Berentzen is no longer allowed to sell its Cola Mix bottles in their previous packaging. And that's not all: it faces a fine of up to 250,000 euros, damages - and a destruction order for all bottles already produced. The ruling is not yet legally binding, but for Paulaner it is a clear victory on points.

The wallpaper that nobody wanted to see

Berentzen was creative in court: the choice of color for the Mio Mio bottle was not copied from Paulaner at all, but was based on a wallpaper in the student room of the current head of marketing. Sounds nice - but not enough to justify it. The judges let the story roll off like cola on a plastic lid.

The central question was: Could customers believe that there is a connection between the two drinks - simply because of the colorful design? The court said: Yes! And that's what trademark law is all about. Not whether the drink tastes or looks the same - but whether the impression of a brand connection could arise.

Why Paulaner is cracking down so hard

Anyone who thinks that Paulaner is merely concerned with principle or wounded vanity is wrong. The colorful wave of colors - yellow, orange, red, pink and purple - is a registered trademark for the company. And it is precisely this color combination that they want to protect from imitators.

The more other Trademarks with similar designs enter the market, the more difficult it will be for Paulaner to legally defend its color code. Back in March, the company successfully took legal action against the Karlsberg brewery - again over colorful labels. For Paulaner, one thing is clear: anyone who copies the colors is diluting the trademark - and in the end perhaps even the value of the original.

Trademarks thrive on clarity

Trademark protection is not a children's birthday party - and not a wallpaper discussion. If you make your product visually unmistakable, you can also expect imitators to be put in their place. Of course, it seems harsh at first glance when bottles are destroyed and fines are threatened. But if every Coke mix soon looks the same, the next advertising scandal is only a matter of time.