July 21 2008, 11:56

"Odessa baby food cannery" resumes the legal claims against "Sandora"

The claim was submitted after LLC "Sandora", owned by Pepsi Co, has broken again the agreements with the Opened JSC "Odessa baby food cannery" regarding the non-usage of the white packs for juice production, which look like the author product of Odessa baby food cannery, "the juices in white packs". The press service of Odessa baby food cannery informed "Fruit-Inform", this month LLC "Sandora" has resumed the production of juices in "white packs"; using the juridical lexicon, such packs "have confusing similarity with the original". The only difference is that SANDORA pack has yellow stripes. However, to the opinion of the representatives of Odessa baby food cannery, it is still easy to take the pack with the stripes for the original.

The history of the "white pack" clones started since the consumers have recognized this product. In 2002 Odessa baby food cannery introduced the juices in the non-standard, color free pack on market; the juices in such packs have become successful among the national buyers during a quite short period of time. Moreover, "Sandora" has not only copied the pack - it specified "Nikolayev baby food cannery" as the enterprise-producer on the clone product. To the opinion of Odessa baby food cannery, this way the buyers were blankly deceived. The thing is, the enterprise-producer "Baby food cannery" in the town of Nikolayev was closed in 1999. As soon as a new line of juices was introduced, "Sandora" management was quick to register a new enterprise "Nikolayev baby food cannery", the registration address is the village Nikolayevskoye, "Pioneer" collective farm. The registration address of "Sandora" company is the same.

Also, the Opened JSC "Odessa baby food cannery" has been involved in the proceedings against "Vinnifruit" company during three years. "Vinnifruit" company also started to produce juices in white pack with no producer name on the front side. All levels of the courts, up to the Superior Commercial Court of Ukraine, confirmed the righteousness of Odessa baby food cannery. They prohibited Opened JSC "Vinnifruit" to use white juice packs without the approval of Odessa baby food cannery; the already produced white packs should be destroyed.

In 2004, under threat of the legal claims "Sandora" shareholders agreed to change the pack color into yellow and also to delete the producer name "Nikolayev baby food cannery" as such that did not correspond to the reality. The owners were changed in 2007, so that the attempt to produce the "updated" pack was made again. When the incorrect actions of "Sandora" company regarding Odessa baby food cannery came public, "Sandora" company agreed to the amicable settlement, and canceled the production of juices in packs which looked like the juices produced by Odessa baby food cannery. However, the conflict between two largest players of the national juice market resumed in July 2008 again.

The representatives of Odessa baby food cannery inform that the enterprise is getting ready to appeal to the court in order to protect its rights and the law-protected interests because of the lawless infringements from the side of the unconscientious competitor, which is "Sandora" company.