The brewery giant, Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), believes that its competitor, Heineken, has infringed a number of American patents, submitted by AB InBev in respect of the system for barrel-drawn beer. A complaint has been submitted with the United States International Trade Commission in Washington. The case is also being taken to court, specifically before a federal court in New York.
Amongst other issues the case relates, for example, to the Brewlock and Blade systems used by Heineken, which are in direct competition with Nova and PureDraught produced by AB InBev. The Leuven company concludes that the Heineken systems should be prohibited in the USA, and is requesting damages to compensate for its loss suffered to date.
Heineken refutes the accusations and is confident of being successful. A Heineken spokesman asserted that its major rival’s legal complaint demonstrated the extent to which the Heineken systems of barrel-drawn beer are actually working efficiently.
The Brussels Times
