Mad Bull loses appeal and launches Mad Buzz

Rizo Investments Pty Ltd, the South African company that owns and manufactures Mad Bull energy drink, has lost their petition to the Chief Justice for leave to appeal has been ordered to discontinue trading under the name "Mad Bull".

Austrian manufacturers of Red Bull filed a complaint against the local company being able to use the word "bull", claiming that it infringes on their trademark. The case was previously heard in the High Court in Pretoria.

"We are obviously disappointed that the Court decided not to support a local manufacturer and creator of 120 jobs but we are prepared for it. Our South African supporters are growing in numbers and they will be pleased to hear that we will be on the shelves in the next couple of weeks with the same Mad taste, same bottle, same price range but with a different name and packaging," says Rizo Investments' CEO Brian Altriche.

"It is time to kill the bull and create a buzz! We are re-launching the product under the name Mad Buzz and are confident that Mad Buzz will continue to turn people on and inspire them as much as it did before."

It is possible that this ruling could influence other products with generic names, such as the Kola/Cola market.