SÃO PAULO, 19 Dec (Reuters) – The Minas Gerais Court granted a favorable injunction to the Brazilian company Coffee++ so that the multinational Nestlé refrains from using the Coffee+ brand on its products and promotes the withdrawal of all merchandise with the logo at physical and virtual points of sale, according to a court decision seen by Reuters.
Judge Claudia Helena Batista granted Coffee++’s request for provisional protection last Wednesday, indicating possible losses for the Brazilian company due to the public’s ‘confusion’ of the brands, adding that Nestlé could be fined if it fails to comply with the decision – the amount is yet to be defined.
Helena Batista stated that Coffee++ has a brand registration granted by the National Institute of Intellectual Property (Inpi), assuring the owner of its exclusive use throughout the national territory.
For the judge, ‘the use by the defendant (Nestlé) of a brand identical to that of the author (of the action) could cause harm to the applicant, given that it could generate confusion among the general consumer public’.
Even though the decision is provisional and the judge called on the parties to inform them of their interest in a conciliation hearing, Coffee++ stated in a statement this Friday that it will not back down from the dispute.
‘We will fight until the end to defend what we have built with legitimacy, work and love for Brazilian coffee. What’s at stake isn’t just Coffee++. We are defending the sovereignty of Brazilian brands…’, said the CEO of Coffee++, Leonardo Montesanto, also a partner at the company.
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Coffee++ stated that, since 2020, ‘it has been the legitimate holder of the brand, intended for products in the coffee segment’.
‘In addition to national registration, the company has expanded its protection to more than 30 countries, including the European Union, Japan, Argentina, and other countries are in the registration process’, he highlighted.
Nestlé stated that it was not notified of the court decision.
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Coffee++ also reported, in a statement, that it verified in June this year that Nestlé was using ‘Coffee+’ in identifying and marketing products in the same segment, ‘using a similar sign that, in theory, could generate confusion or undue association on the part of consumers’.
The Brazilian company stated that it initially tried to resolve the issue extrajudicially, but the notifications sent to Nestlé did not result in an agreement.
On the contrary, according to Coffee++, Nestlé filed a lawsuit on September 24th asking for the complete nullification of the Coffee++ brand in Brazil.
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‘We will continue to act with total transparency and firmness, taking all necessary legal measures to protect what is rightfully ours,’ said Montesanto.
Coffee++ highlighted that it is preparing for internationalization, with a confirmed presence at the Dubai and Paris fairs in 2026, but is facing ‘the attempted elimination made by one of the largest corporations in the world’.
(Reporting by Roberto Samora; editing by Marta Nogueira)
