Rainer Heimler is certain that a key specific feature of Nuremberg bratwursts is their small size: they can be seven to nine centimeters long. For the chairman of the Nuremberg Bratwurst Protection Association, this is such an outstanding feature that he is of the opinion that all bratwursts of this size in Europe are automatically associated with Nuremberg. That’s why he’s bothered by the Ostermeier company’s “mini grilled sausages” and complains. Both the “Mini” in the name and the suffix “chen” would suggest to the average European consumer that it has Nuremberg origins, even though the company comes from Geiselhöring in Lower Bavaria.
That was a key point in the trial that took place at Munich Regional Court I on Tuesday. The focus was on the question of whether the Lower Bavarian producer’s product presentation violated the protected term “Nuremberger Bratwürste” or “Nuremberger Rostbratwürste”.
The packaging design is also a thorn in the plaintiff’s side. According to the lawsuit, Ostermeier advertises with images that come very close to the traditional recommendation of Nuremberg grilled sausages. In the pictures you can see the sausages served on a bed of sauerkraut in a rustic pot. Exactly how many real Nuremberg sausage manufacturers recommend consumption.
And then there are the characteristic speckles that both Nuremberg bratwursts and the Geiselhöringer “Mini Rostbratwürstchen” have and come from the marjoram that is sausage-made. An argument that was previously unknown to neither the judge nor the Ostermeier company and which, as Heimler says, “just came up in the hallway.”
However, this is not a feature of the specification, counters the opposing lawyer, Christina Koppe-Zagouras. She also states that there is no reference to Nuremberg bratwurst in the name of the Ostermeier product.
Nevertheless, Heimler believes that all of this taken together violates the EU’s “Protected Geographical Indication” seal of quality, which is intended to protect regional specialties. The people of Nuremberg even commissioned a survey from a market research company. Result: 45 percent of all respondents had an association with the Nuremberg region in their minds when it came to Ostermeier sausages.
The court must now address the question of whether this is enough to violate trademark law and whether the Ostermeier company is even deliberately misleading in order to profit from the reputation of Nuremberg bratwursts. Ostermeier lawyer Koppe-Zagouras believes the procedure is “absurd”.
He wanted to save the Nuremberg Bratwurst
The plaintiff emphasizes that there are no “personal animosities.” For him it’s about “saving the Nuremberg bratwursts” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/.”As pathetic as that sounds,” says Heimler. He is repeatedly asked whether he wants to “build a monopoly” with his lawsuits and his efforts, which always makes him feel as if he is doing something indecent. He does this “to protect those who legally produce these sausages”.
According to Heimler, the aim is that no other butcher is allowed to produce the Nuremberg sausage format so that there is no risk of confusion in the supermarket. After all, real Nuremberg bratwursts have strict ingredients requirements that imitators do not have to adhere to.
If the court decides in favor of the plaintiff, Heimler is certain that it would have “reflexive effects on the entire market.” This would set a precedent that would help the sausage lobbyist in further lawsuits. If the Nuremberg team wins, it is to be expected that other butchers who sell bratwursts in the Nuremberg format will be sued. A verdict could come on May 7th.