Spezi, a mixed drink made from lemonade and cola, is a national drink in Bavaria. Accordingly, attention is paid to what is happening in the capital around the drink in court. In the dispute over the use of the term “Spezi”, the Munich I Regional Court sided with the Paulaner brewery.
The Munich-based company can continue to sell their “Paulaner Spezi” under this name, the chamber decided on Tuesday in the conflict with the Augsburg brewery Riegele. An agreement from 1974 is still effective and continues to exist. However, the judgment is not yet final. The conflict is about a lot of money: the amount in dispute is around ten million euros.
The reason for this is that the people of Augsburg, according to their own statements, had the “Spezi” trademark registered as early as the mid-1950s. In the 1970s, the two companies then concluded said agreement with each other. However, Riegele now doubts that today’s Paulaner Group is the legal successor to the contract and also declared that the agreement was terminated. Instead, the Swabians wanted to conclude a new license agreement. On the other hand, the people of Munich appealed for a declaratory judgment and were now right.
The court is convinced that the agreement is not to be interpreted as a license agreement, but rather as a coexistence and delimitation agreement. With it, a final settlement of existing disputes between the parties was intended, and trusting in this, Paulaner invested heavily in the brand.
Such agreements cannot be terminated ordinarily, and Paulaner gave no reason for an extraordinary termination, explained the 33rd Civil Chamber, which specializes in trademark and competition law.
