Australian winery refuses to bottle up copycat claims
The world’s largest standalone winemaker has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against “copycat” winery Rush Rich.
Treasury Wine Estates filed the complaint at the Federal Court of Australia, as reported by Reuters today, February 16.
The Australian winemaker alleged that Adelaide-based winery Rush Rich is a “copycat” seller of its famous Penfolds brand and is infringing Treasury’s trademark.
According to the winemaker’s website, the Penfolds brand of wine was established in 1844 and “has played a pivotal role in the evolution of winemaking with a history and heritage that proudly reflects Australia’s journey”.
Treasury alleged that Rush Rich produces imitations of the Penfolds brand by sourcing and bottling the product through bulk wine suppliers and exporting it into the Chinese market. Rush Rich’s products allegedly feature the Penfolds lettering and Chinese characters, in violation of Treasury’s trademark.
Penfolds is sold as ‘Ben Fu’ in China, following Treasury’s success at the Beijing High People’s Court last year where the winemaker secured the right to use ‘Ben Fu’ as a trademark in China. The decision followed a lengthy dispute between Treasury and Chinese trademark squatters, WIPR reported.
China represents a large market for Australian wine. Australia’s wine exports to China increased by 63% in 2017, raising the share price of Treasury, Australian Financial Review reported.
Mike Clarke, Treasury’s chief executive, said the lawsuit is necessary to stamp out the “nonsense” of “bad-faith” copycats who are damaging the A$5 billion (US$4 billion) Australian wine industry, Australian Financial Review reported. Clarke has reportedly set up an internal investigation in China, too.
Treasury has been involved in other IP disputes over its Penfolds brand in China.
The Drinks Business reported that Treasury filed complaints with Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba last year relating to the sale of fake Penfolds on its online platform. The complaint led to the discovery of more than 14,000 bottles of Penfolds imitations by police in Shanghai.
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