Netherlands: InBev wins PerfectDraft® court case against Heineken

On December 1 the judge in interlocutory proceedings of the Court of The Hague dismissed Heineken's request that sales of the PerfectDraft® in The Netherlands be discontinued, InBev announced the same day.

At the end of September, Heineken started an action on the merits and summary proceedings against InBev and Philips. The subject of the two actions was, among other things, the enforcement of a ban on the sale of the home beer tap system manufactured by InBev and Philips for the Netherlands. Heineken is of the opinion that the system (the home beer tap and the small kegs they use) violates various of the company’s patents on the technology incorporated in the BeerTender, the innovative home beer tap of Heineken and Krups. In anticipation of the action on merits, Heineken had started summary proceedings so as to protect its inventions.

The judge's preliminary ruling states that the PerfectDraft® from Philips and InBev does not infringe any Heineken patent.

Philips and InBev are of course delighted with the ruling, which is entirely in line with their expectations. The two companies are confident the ruling in the proceedings on the merits of the case will confirm this initial ruling.

PerfectDraft®, the home beer tap from Philips and InBev that lets consumers enjoy the delicious taste of their favorite beer straight from the tap, is available in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. In the Netherlands, the beer brands Hertog Jan, Dommelsch, Jupiler, Grolsch and Bavaria are available in kegs for the PerfectDraft® system.

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