Irn Bru bosses have won a legal battle with a firm which tried to launch a rival drink called Scots-Bru.
AG Barr, the makers of Scotland’s “other national drink”, contacted lawyers over English company Sun Mark’s product.
The company – a distribution firm run by Tory donor businessman Raminder Ranger – said it planned to launch a range of energy drinks under the Scots-Bru name.
But Lanarkshire-based AG Barr accused Sun Mark of trying to “ride upon the coat tails” of its success and Scottish heritage.
It claimed the imitation product would be a threat to its business, which has annual sales of £120million.
Sun Mark disputed the claims and said Scots-Bru would be a different type of product.
It also bizarrely claimed the average customer would not associate the word “Bru” with the drink, but rather as the French word for daughter-in-law.
The matter was settled at a hearing of the UK Intellectual Property Office, which rules on trademark disputes, after Sun Mark applied to register Scots Bru as a brand name.
Trademark hearing officer, George Salthouse, ruled in favour of AG Barr after hearing evidence and representations from legal teams from both sides.
He said: “AG Barr have provided evidence of use of the trademark Bru. To my mind, this is sufficient for AG Barr to show that it has goodwill in the mark Bru.
“Conceptually, Sun Mark Limited contends that AG Barr’s mark will be seen as having the meaning of a daughter in law. I do not accept that.
“It is well documented that the average UK consumer lacks linguistic ability in foreign languages.
“The term ‘bru’ will not, I believe, be one which is recognised as being the French for ‘daughter in law’.
“It will be seen for what it is, a misspelling of the word ‘brew’ as in concoction, drink or bevvy.
“In my opinion, taking all the factors into account, there is a likelihood of consumers being directly confused into believing that the goods of Sun Mark Limited are those of AG Barr or provided by some undertaking linked to them.”
At the hearing, AG Barr’s solicitor Stephen Taylor produced a raft of evidence chronicling Irn Bru’s history and international fame.
It included its sponsorship of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, photos of celebrities with cans of Irn Bru and its “Snowman” television advert.
Sun Mark, which is based in Middlesex, has also been ordered to pay AG Barr £2,900 after losing the case, to cover legal costs.
