In France, the Marseillais Jules Ronchetti, launched a soap under the brand Le Persil in 1906. During the 1st World War, the company of Electro-Chimie, concessionaire for France of the Henkel laundry, signed an agreement with Ronchetti by which it no longer sells detergents under the Persil brand. A legal battle ensued which resulted in an agreement in 1927 reserving the use of the mark to the English company Lever Brothers (which bought the company from Jules Ronchetti) in France and the United Kingdom, and to the German company Henkel in the rest of the world.