Heineken bottles out in Hungary beer row

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Heineken and Lixid Project, based in Transylvania, a region in Romania with a large ethnic Hungarian population, said in a joint statement that their dispute had been settled out of court. "Both companies now look forward to (focusing) on what they do best and enjoy most: brewing beer," said the statement seen by AFP.

The deal appears to have ended a bitter dispute framed by the Hungarian government as a "David and Goliath" battle against a multinational firm "abusing its power" over a small company run by ethnic Hungarians.

The dispute escalated after the Dutch firm's Romanian subsidiary won a brand-name dispute against Lixid Project in January. A court ruled that their Hungarian-language "Csiki" beer was too similar to Heineken's Romanian-language "Ciuc" range and infringed trademark rights.

Budapest slammed the decision as "undignified, unjust and anti-Hungarian" and supported calls to boycott Heineken products. Then draft legislation brought to parliament by senior government officials this month proposed a ban on the commercial use of "symbols of totalitarian dictatorships" like the red star.

Heineken insisted its logo had "no political meaning whatsoever" and that it dated back to medieval European brewers. When the symbol became associated with communism after World War II, the brewer swapped it for a white star before reverting back to the original following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In a separate statement sent to AFP, Heineken said it "recognises the importance and emotional value of the Csiki brand-name to its brewers and consumers," as well as to its "stakeholders in both Romania and Hungary".

"Rest assured that similarly Heineken will always, everywhere and with all means defend what is at its own core since the early days of the company: the Heineken trademark, including its iconic red star," it said.

Nandor Csepreghy, a senior Hungarian government official, said that the case shows "that where there is a will, then David can defeat Goliath".

Lixid Project thanked its supporters, consumers, the local community "and last but not least, the Hungarian government".

Source: AFP