MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. The Kaluga-based Kristall Distillery has won two arbitration cases against Germany’s Jagermeister, the company’s press service told TASS.
"The Kristall Distillery prevailed in two legal proceedings at once in the Moscow Arbitration Court under actions filed by German company Mast-Jagermeister SE. A cross-claim of the Kristall Distillery against Jagermeister with claims totaling over 500 mln rubles ($5.5 mln) will be tried in the Arbitration Court of the Kaluga Region on December 25," the press service said.
The Moscow Arbitration Court dismissed two cases by Mast-Jagermeister SE, where the claimant demanded the termination of the illegal, in its opinion, use of the Alter Heiler and Konig Heiler trademarks. The plaintiff’s lawyers attempted to prove that the look and taste of these bitters produced by Kristall is eerily similar to the Jagermeister bitter.
The court established that the Alter Heiler and the Konig Heiler are original products and do not mimic the Jagermeister brand. The court also took into account that Jagermeister suspended official supplies to Russia as early as in November 2022.
Actions of Mast-Jagermeister SE inflicted material damage to Kristall and the decision was made to file a cross-suit, distillery chief executive Artyom Chubukin said. "This is the lost profit as a result of the chain's refusal to cooperate with us and the reputational damage to our brands due to spreading deliberately false information," he added.