[Ammi]

In a classic case of David vs Goliath, Red Bull has come down on a small brewery in Norwich like a ton of bricks for infringing the word 'red'.

Redwell Brewing, which employs just eight people, sought to trademark its name. It is named after Redwell Street in Norwich city centre.

But the small company soon received a letter from the global drinks brand demanding it rescind the application, which “comprises Red Bull’s earlier trademark ‘red’ as a whole.”

In a letter, Red Bull’s brand enforcement manager, Hansjorg Jeserznik, added that “all trademarks consist solely of English words and contain the common element ‘red’. The term ‘well’ is merely descriptive and therefore of no distinctive character at all.”

it's not just the use of red that had irked Jeserznik.

He went to on to say: “Furthermore the term ‘bull’ and the term ‘well’ share the same ending and just differ in two letters.

“The ending ‘ll’ is identical and therefore the terms Red Bull and Redwell are confusingly similar from a visual as well from a phonetical point of view.

The boss said that consumers could easily believe that Redwell was an extension of the Red Bull brand

Finally, legal action was threatened if Redwell failed to retract its trademark application by the end of August.

Owner Patrick Fisher, who started the brewery earlier this year, has said he was "shocked" by Red Bull's letter.

"Our name is different, our branding is different. We don't make energy drinks and we're not planning to move into Formula One or send a man skydiving from space very soon," he told the BBC.

On its website, Red Bull says it takes protection of its brand "very seriously" and "rigorously protects its absolute rights".