Treasury Wine Estates has successfully registered the trademark for the Chinese transliteration of its Penfolds wine brand - BEN FU (奔富) - in China.
As a result, TWE is now the owner of the earliest trade mark registrations for 奔富 (BEN FU) in relation to wine in both China and Australia, dating back to February 9, 2011 and April 1, 2016 respectively.
The announcement comes after almost 10 years of litigation and enforcement by TWE through the Chinese courts and authorities to claim its ownership of the BEN FU trademark after it was hijacked by a trademark squatter.
The squatter registered the BEN FU trademark in 2009, however, this mark was invalidated by TWE through the Chinese Courts on the grounds of non-use and bad faith in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Further, the subsequent oppositions filed by this individual (and others) against TWE’s own trademark application for BEN FU were also rejected in April 2020 by the Chinese Intellectual Property Office for seeking to rely on untenable grounds.
TWE Managing Director North Asia, Tom King, said it was a significant milestone for the company as it cements TWE as the legitimate registered trade mark owner of the BEN FU brand, which is one of the most recognised wine brands in China.
“Protecting the integrity of our historic wine brands against trade mark piracy and misappropriation has always been a priority and we have never wavered in our commitment to this endeavor,” King said.
“We are delighted with the outcome, as it gives us even greater ability to enforce the protection of our brand in line with our zero-tolerance approach to IP infringements, including counterfeit and copycat brands.”
TWE considers Penfolds demerger
TWE announced earlier this month that it is considering a Penfolds demerger by the end of 2021 as it restructures its business.
The decision to consider a Penfolds demerger follows Clarke’s review of TWE’s portfolio and builds on the company’s growing focus on premiumisation.
“A potential demerger would facilitate the creation of incremental long-term value by allowing one team to focus on driving the luxury Penfolds multi-country of origin portfolio (Australian, French and US sourced propositions) while a separate team focuses on accelerating the mix shift towards luxury in new TWE business, while also reducing and right-sizing the commercial portfolio,” TWE noted.
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