If you order a Spezi in the restaurant, you get a fruity drink, a mix of cola and orange lemonade. But the brand name is actually protected. However, the Paulaner brewery does not want to pay license fees for this and is suing.
It is now firmly integrated into everyday language: if you want a drink made from cola and orange soda, you order a “Spezi”. But the name is not just a nickname for the brown shower. The Augsburg brewery Riegele had the name protected in 1956. Actually, only the drink from the Fugger city can also be called Spezi. Nevertheless, there is a competitor who uses the name: The Paulaner brewery from Munich. To date, Paulaner has not paid any license fees for this.
Almost 50-year-old agreement: Paulaner does not want to pay license fees for “Spezi”.
The reason for this is an almost 50-year-old agreement between the two beer houses. According to “Bild”, Paulaner Riegele paid a one-time fee of 10,000 Deutschmarks in 1974 to be allowed to use the name. But now the Augsburg brewery is demanding that Paulaner sign a new license agreement. The old agreement is no longer valid.
However, Paulaner sees things differently and therefore complained. Both breweries have been arguing before the Munich Regional Court since Tuesday.
In the future, Riegele only wants to allow Paulaner to use the name if the Munich-based company signs a new license agreement. The dispute is by no means just about the rights to the name, but above all about a lot of money. According to the court, the value in dispute is estimated at around ten million euros, reports the Bayrischer Rundfunk.
Judge rather on the side of Paulaner
Paulaner explained in court that the brewery expects license fees of around five million euros per year. As the BR reports, the presiding judge spoke of a tendency to agree with Paulaner. Riegele should not have simply terminated the agreement like that. In addition, no term or further payments were mentioned in the contract. However, a final verdict has not yet been made.
As reported by “Bild”, the presiding judge suggested a comparison between the two parties. Otherwise, a judgment should be made at the end of August.
Sources: Bavarian Radio, image
