The world number one in beer, asked the Leff micro-brewery, Côtes d’Armor, to change its name to avoid creating “confusion among consumers”. Rocambolesque, answers the Breton brewer
The Belgian-Brazilian group AB InBev, world number one in beer, asked the Breton micro-brewery Leff, in the Côtes d’Armor, to change its name to avoid creating “confusion among consumers”.
“The Leff name for a beer closely resembles our protected Leffe brand for beers too. ”And “in the pronunciation, there is no difference between both”, argued AB InBev.
“The existence of two Leff and Leffe beers would confuse consumers and could mislead them”, added the group, confirming information from Ouest-France. A written request was sent a few weeks ago to the micro-brewery, located in Lanleff near Paimpol.
“It’s all a bit incredible”, commented Philippe Le Saux, founder of the Leff artisanal brewery, named after a Breton river, tributary of the Trieux.
“I use the water from the Leff to make beer”, explained the 64-year-old brewer, who started making his beer last summer for “friends” and “locals”.
“It’s service rather than anything else”, assured Philippe Le Saux, who says he aims for a production of 1,500 bottles per month and has registered the trademark of his beer at the National Institute of Intellectual Property (Inpi).
AB InBev, which owns 500 brands and claims 2 billion consumers worldwide, underlined in its press release the “visual similarities in the layout with our Leffe brand”, the craft brewery also using Gothic characters on its labels.
“AB InBev hopes that a solution will be found and awaits the evaluation of the French administration responsible for trademarks“, stressed the group.
Philippe Le Saux has indicated that he does not have the means to take legal action against the beer giant, known for its global brands Budweiser, Stella Artois or Corona. “In front of a trust like that, we cannot fight, he said. This is the region Brittany who must defend me “
AB InBev, headquartered in Leuven, recorded a net profit of $ 3.9 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) for the first nine months of 2021 for a turnover of 40.1 billion dollars (35.4 billion EUR).