A jury in the US has found in favour of Constellation Brands in the ‘definition of beer’ legal row with Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Constellation’s US release three years ago of a hard seltzer under the Corona brand name prompted AB InBev to file against the company, claiming a breach of their licencing agreement in the country. AB InBev owns Corona outside of the market, having sold the US rights to Constellation to bypass monopoly concerns in 2013.
Late last year, the case, which centred around AB InBev’s claim that the hard seltzer extension went against the terms of its agreement with Constellation, moved to a jury ruling. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said at the time that it should be for a jury to decide whether hard seltzer “constitutes beer within the meaning of the sublicence”.
On Wednesday, the jury decided that Constellation had been within its rights to take Corona beyond AB InBev’s definition of the term ‘beer’ in the US.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this trial,” a Constellation spokesperson told Global Drinks Intel, “and remain committed to continuing to operate in accordance with the terms of our sub-licence agreement as we work with our distributor and retailer partners to continue to build brands consumers love.”
AB InBev, on the other hand, was more circumspect, with a spokesperson at its Grupo Modelo division saying: “We are disappointed with the verdict and are evaluating all options.”
This week’s news comes in the same month as AB InBev’s US unit launched a marketing campaign for the Bud Light hard seltzer that features the tagline “100% Hard Seltzer, 0% Beer”.
As well as Corona Hard Seltzer, Constellation has also released Modelo Ranch Water in the US prior to this week’s verdict.
Anheuser-Busch InBev versus Constellation Brands – ‘Beer’ to have its day in court – Comment
