One is the world-wide market leader in energy drinks and employs nearly 9,000 people.

The other is a small brewery on the outskirts of Norwich that employs eight people.

But Red Bull, from its headquarters in Austria, has written to Redwell Brewing, based at The Arches in Bracondale, near County Hall, requesting it to immediately withdraw its trademark application, because it claims the names are too similar and would confuse consumers. In the letter, Red Bull’s brand enforcement manager, Hansjorg Jeserznik, says Redwell’s application “comprises Red Bull’s earlier trademark ‘red’ as a whole, which is a prima facie for the similarity of signs.

“Moreover, 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.