THURSDAY, 11.00AM:
SA BREWERIES is in another spat with its only significant rival in the region, Namibian Breweries, winning a court order in Pretoria to prevent Namibian Breweries from selling its Hofbrau brand in South Africa.
SAB told the court that it had concluded a licensing agreement with Staatliches Hofbrauhaus, the Munich-based brewer of Hofbrau, to launch the beer in South Africa with a R2,8-million campaign this month.
Namibian Breweries found out about the plans, claims SAB, and introduced its own version of Hofbrau to the market in August. The Germans told the court that Namibia Breweries are not authorised to use the name Hofbrau, and consumers are likely to be confused. “The likelihood of a competitor choosing the identical trademark for an identical product at virtually the same time, is slim,” German officials told the court.
Namibian Breweries has until next Thursday to respond to a temporary restraining order.
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