Red Bull backs down over name dispute with Redwell brewery

The makers of the energy drink Red Bull have announced they will not proceed with a legal challenge against the Redwell brewery using its name on its beers because it is too similar.

Red Bull had sent a letter to the Norwich-based Redwell Brewing, which employs eight people, saying customers could confuse the two brands. It had warned that Redwell would face legal action if a resolution was not found by the end of the month. The brewery, founded last October, is named after Norfolk city's Redwell Street.

Following publicity from the letter, however, a spokesman for Red Bull said: "There is no dispute here. Red Bull has long been willing to allow Redwell to maintain its mark for beer so long as they do not use it for energy drinks. Redwell's solicitor has agreed."

The company's brand enforcement manager had previously written to Redwell, arguing: "The term 'well' is merely descriptive and therefore of no distinctive character at all. Furthermore the term 'bull' and the term 'well' share the same ending and just differ in two letters.

"The ending 'll' is identical and therefore the terms Red Bull and Redwell are confusingly similar from a visual as well from a phonetical point of view. The consumer will thus be confused as to the origin of the services."