Henri’s edition in law
The parent brand Gault&Millau wants to get rid of the German licensee – the court disagrees
Gault&Millau is currently in dispute with its German licensee
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The farce surrounding the trademark dispute at the Gault&Millau restaurant guide could be over sooner than expected. A court has now spoken out.
The story is bizarre. Just a few days ago, the French parent brand Gault&Millau International went public to harshly denounce its German licensee. The Munich publisher Henris Edition has been using the name unlawfully for months and the contracts have long since been terminated. There was talk of breaches of contractual obligations and non-payment and there was great excitement. Henri’s edition was outraged. And rightly so in the truest sense of the word, as a court has now confirmed. Was it all just much ado about nothing?
If you believed the letter from the parent brand, you had to assume that the Munich publisher was doing nothing other than mischief with the good name of the renowned restaurant guide. Among other things, it sharply criticized the evaluation systems and methods, which in no way reflected the standards, ethics and values that the brand has stood for since its founding. In fact, the Gault&Millau follows Germany has been taking slightly different paths than other editions for some time now. For example, he foregoes the well-known evaluation points and limits himself to awarding a maximum of five toques.
Trademark dispute at Gault&Millau
Gault&Millau International’s claim: The separation from the German licensing partner has been in effect since mid-November last year. Henri’s edition vehemently contradicted this, calling the “news currently in circulation damaging to reputation and business.” The fees have been paid up to and including 2025 and the license is still valid. Legal steps would be examined.
Said and done. There is now a legal assessment in the trademark dispute sooner than expected. As Henris Edition announced in a press test, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court has completely rejected the allegations from Gault&Millau International. The Duisburg Regional Court had previously come to the same conclusion. According to the Munich publisher, the court dismissed the allegations as “unfounded” and “not credible”. Several media outlets reported.
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Henri’s Edition: “Unfounded malicious accusations”
The court’s assessment is therefore clear. There can be no question of outstanding license payments; instead, there is actually a credit balance in favor of Henri’s Edition. There were no breaches of duty identified, nor were there any trademark infringements. The court concludes that there are no grounds for effective termination of the license agreement by Gault&Millau International. “We were deeply affected by the unfounded and malicious allegations,” said Hannah Fink-Eder, managing director of Henris Edition. She thanked the publisher for the great support they received from the industry.
Based on the court order, it is clear to Henris Edition that the publisher remains the legal license holder. The work will continue. The results of the anonymous restaurant tests and wine tastings are to be continuously published in the associated app as planned, and the printed restaurant guide is also scheduled to appear in the fall. “Obviously the attacks on us as a German licensee have completely different backgrounds than our serious implementation of the valid license,” said Hans Fink, co-founder of the publishing house. He announced that he wanted to take decisive action against such allegations, as recently made by Gault & Millau International, and called on licensors to “return to professional work”.
Whether this means the matter is off the table remains to be seen. The Henris Edition license agreement is scheduled to run until 2025.