Absolut protest: Swedish vodka maker threatens Polish producer with lawsuit

Sweden's The Absolut Company is protesting against the advertising campaign of Chopin vodka. It has threatened Polmos Siedlce and advertising agency Velvet Art with legal procedures. The Absolut Company claims the new method of advertising Chopin vodka is in fact plagiarism. Both firms use electronic integrated circuits schematics to show the shape of the bottles. "We meet with plagiarism in Poland every day," says Janusz Grabowski from the Swedish headquarters of The Absolut Company. Waldemar Durakiewicz, president of Polmos Siedlce, denies the allegations. "Chopin has more in common with art than Absolut so there is no reason why we should not use it in our advertising campaign," said Durakiewicz. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 27) M.M.