Beverages – Hamburg – High Regional Court announces decision in whiskey dispute

HAMBURG (DPA) – In a whiskey dispute between a Swabian distillery and the Association of Scottish Whiskey Producers, the decision will be announced this afternoon (12 noon) before the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg. There is controversy over the brand name “Glen Buchenbach”, under which Waldhorn distillery Klotz from Berglen near Stuttgart sells its spirits and which the Scotch Whiskey Association sees as infringing on its rights. In February 2019, the district court agreed with Plaintiff Scots, as the “glen” part of the name affected the geographical indication “Scotch Whiskey”, which is specifically protected in the EU Spirits Regulation. The Swabian people appealed against it.

They were again threatened with defeat before the High Regional Court: the court had already made clear in an oral hearing in November that it saw the Scots as entitled to injunctive relief. The word “Glen” in the product name for whiskey must have been an inappropriate allusion to the geographical indication “Scotch whisky”, it was stated at the time.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:22019-99-772820/2