Purity vodka takes legal action against Absolut

High-end Swedish vodka brand Purity is taking legal action against its much larger rival Absolut, claiming that its “Absolut Purity” campaign infringes its registered trademark.

The Absolut Purity campaign featured this ink-free poster in a bus shelter on Paris’s Avenue de l’Opera, created using folds only

The small-scale, organic vodka, produced at Ellinge Castle in southern Sweden, says the Absolut Purity slogan – used in ads, on posters and in other media – gives the impression that there is a “material connection” between The Absolut Company and Purity Vodka AB.

Purity had previously asked Absolut – owned by Pernod Ricard – to withdraw the campaign, but without success. Now the case has been formally filed to Stockholm City Court.

“Unfortunately, we are now left with no other option than to proceed with an application for a summons,” said Thomas Kuuttanen, one of the founders of Purity Vodka and the man who developed the luxury vodka in the early 2000s.

“Vodka is very much about image – we understand how tempting it is for competitors to want to benefit from our success,” he added.

“If we accept the type of infringement committed by The Absolut Company, our uniqueness will be weakened and Purity Vodka will be confused with Absolut Vodka.”

Prior to filing the case, Purity commissioned reports from two leading experts in intellectual property and marketing rights – Professor Emeritus Ulf Bernitz and Professor Per Nordell, both from Stockholm University.

Pernod Ricard said it could not comment on “ongoing processes”.