Halewood International is preparing to go to court to fight for the name of its sparkling perry Lambrini. A writ has been issued against the company by a group of Italian Lambrusco producers who claim it is passing itself off as Lambrusco and stealing their sales. Halewood's managing director Harry Melling said: "We refute utterly this mischievous suggestion and will defend any action utterly." Sales and marketing director Bob Rishworth said: "There was no objection when we first came on to the market six years ago. "There is no infringement of a registered name. Lambrusco is a generic title and the bulk of it cannot even be called wine because it is so low in strength. "Part of their case will be that we have taken sales from them but Lambrusco was in decline before Lambrini came on the market and it has continued to decline. "We have supported the brand very heavily with posters and on TV and there is no way we are going to back off." The case is set to go to the High Court next summer. {{NEWS }}

Topics