Interbrew launches legal battle against HSBC's 'local' slogan

Interbrew, the litigious Belgian brewing group that calls itself "the world's local brewer", has returned to the courtroom. This time it is challenging HSBC over the banking giant's use of the slogan "the world's local bank".

Interbrew, which brews Stella Artois, Bass and Boddingtons beer, has filed lawsuits in Belgium, the Netherlands and France disputing the similarity of HSBC's marketing claim to its own.

The Belgian group said it "could not rule out" taking further action in other countries.

HSBC, which adopted the phrase 12 months ago, is fighting the claims.

"We believe the case has no merit as we believe consumers can tell the difference between a bank loan and a pint of Boddingtons," a spokesman for the bank said.

Interbrew has established a reputation for legal confrontations. It took the British Government to court last year over its decision to force it to sell Bass Brewers.

Earlier this year Interbrew used the courts to try to force several British media organisations, including the Independent, to hand over leaked documents which appeared to show Interbrew plotting a bid for South African Breweries.

Although it dropped its claim against the media, the five newspapers have taken the case to the European Court of Human Rights to ask judges to protect journalists' sources.

Commenting on the likelihood of bringing further lawsuits in other countries, an Interbrew spokesman said: "If the rights of the company are at the risk of being damaged we take measures. If other companies start using it [the phrase "the world's local..."], it will dilute the strength of the combination of words to which ultimately we consider we have intellectual property rights."

A key part of the group's strategy is designed to strengthen its position as "The World's Local Brewer", a phrase on which it claims copyright. It wants to use that to build leading positions in international markets through strategic acquisitions and internal growth.

Interbrew says it is one of the oldest beer companies in the world, and simultaneously the newest global brewer. It has operations in 20 countries, across North America, Western Europe and emerging markets.

The company can trace its origins back to 1366 to a brewery called Den Hoorn, located in Leuven, a city just outside Brussels. Interbrew was formed in 1987 from the merger of Brasseries Piedboeuf and Brasseries Artois, then respectively the first and second largest brewers in Belgium.

Since 1991 it has swallowed Labatt of Canada, Bass Brewers and Whitbread Beer in the UK and Germany's Diebels and Beck & Co.

The case brought by Interbrew against HSBC in the Netherlands in April was recently dismissed by a court, although the Belgian brewer is appealing. It is still awaiting judgment for a case brought in Belgium, while another in France is still in the procedural stages.

Interbrew mounted the legal challenge after first writing to HSBC in early April asking the bank to withdraw the slogan. Previously, HSBC used the phrase: "Your world of financial services."

Interbrew, which is the world's third largest brewer, adopted its "local brewer" tag in 1999. A spokesman added: "You will have seen that we use the elements at our disposal to protect our rights."

- INDEPENDENT