TWE takes legal action against copycat wine producer

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has filed legal proceedings against ‘copycat operator’ Rush Rich in the Federal Court of Australia.

CEO Michael Clarke told The Australian Financial Review he'd been shocked to discover copycat Penfolds wine products were being sourced and bottled through bulk wine suppliers and bottlers in South Australia, and then exported using labels which had the look and feel of Penfolds.

"I was honestly stunned," he said.

He has vowed to stamp out trade mark infringements that exploit TWE’s iconic Penfolds brand, including the unauthorised use of TWE’s BEN FU trade mark (the Chinese transliteration for Penfolds).

"We're putting a stop to this," he said. "This is nonsense." 

The TWE case aims stop the infringement of its rights by Rush Rich both in Australia and in China, which it believes could significantly damage the reputation of its iconic brands.

Clarke said it was critical for producers, industry bodies, authorities and government to take action now to protect the long term reputation and success of Australian wine in export markets where TWE has forged significant growth for

premium imported wine in recent years.

“We have become aware of a number of copycat operators that are taking illegal and unfair advantage of the success of iconic brands such as Penfolds," Clarke noted. "The infringing products and misleading claims these operators are making, and the association they falsely claim to have with our brands are unconscionable. We are putting on notice any bad faith operators in Australia - and anyone working with these operators - that this exploitation will not be tolerated.

“There is no doubt that the Penfolds brand has played an instrumental role in the success Brand Australia is enjoying overseas," he added. "With this success comes the predatory behaviour of sophisticated copycat operators, which is bad for consumers, bad for Australian brand owners and bad for the Australian wine industry."

The case against Rush Rich is one example of TWE’s strategy to take legal action both in Australia and internationally to protect its brands against infringing products. It follows a landmark legal win in the Beijing High People’s Court in China in January 2017 that supported TWE’s lawful right to use and market the BEN FU trademark in China.

The concerns raised by Clarke are supported by industry organisations including the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia (WFA).

“Over recent years, the Australian wine industry has enjoyed huge success in overseas markets," said WFA Chief Executive, Tony Battaglene. "This success relies on the integrity and quality of our wine – a reputation that is put at risk by copycat wines being exported from Australia. 

“Our strong regulatory system is pivotal to our export success. While we support individual brand owners protecting their IP rights through individual legal action, WFA will continue to work with the Australian Government to ensure we have the right regulatory measures in place to prevent copycat products jeopardising the continued export growth of Australian wines and its benefits to the broader Australian community.”