Red Bull opposed a new trademark application for registration of the mark ‘Bullards’ before the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The Austrian soft drinks giant sent a letter to English Gin Firm ‘Bullards’ lawyer in the month of February in 2021. Red Bull alleged Bullards of choosing a phonetically similar trademark ‘Bullards’ to that of it’s i.e., ‘Redbull’ because both words contain the word ‘bull’ and would likely cause public confusion.

Seen by The Spirits Business, Red Bull claimed in its letter that Norwich-based producer Bullards was trying to ride upon the coat-tails of its goodwill created over a period of time. The letter read: “Our client recognizes that your client’s brand stems from a historical family business and so it has asked us to highlight that it does not want to prevent your client from doing anything it has historically done.”

Bullards was founded in the year 1837. It was founded initially as a producer of beer and a great importer of wines and spirits. Russell Evans was the man behind the revival of the Bullards name in the year 2015. However, this time an emphasis was made on gin which resulted in establishing a distillery in the center of Norwich. With a view to settling the dispute, Red Bull’s legal team made a request to Bullards to withdraw its trademark under some specific goods which also included non-alcoholic beverages such as energy drinks and from being used at events.

Bullards was founded by Russell Evans said in an interview: “We don’t think there is any confusion. They are insisting that we remove our trademark registrations for certain sectors like soft drinks, fizzy drinks, and events. My concern is that as I don’t agree there is any conflict if I start letting them have energy drinks, I’m almost admitting there is confusion between Red Bull and Bullards.”

Evans continued: “We now have to put our defense in by mid-October. It then goes to an IPO formal hearing. They are determined to stop us from doing it. It’s not the first time they’ve done it; they’ve issued legal action against a Norwich brewery. I don’t think this will go to court. They try to bully people into doing what they want.” Red Bull was founded in the year 1987. However, it did not find it appropriate to comment on this ongoing legal matter.

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