The Age newspaper has reported today on an increasing concern over the counterfeiting of rare and prestigious French wines. According to the article, the problem has risen with the price of fine wines although it is not yet on the same scale as with other luxury goods such as handbags.

Given the growth in super premium wine being produced in Australia and New Zealand, this highlights the need for Australian and New Zealand winemakers to be vigilant and ensure that their brand and labels are appropriately protected.

Winemakers should consider the extent of their trade mark rights, both in Australia and important overseas markets. In addition, winemakers should also ensure that they own any copyright subsisting in their logos and wine label.

In Australia, both registered trade marks and copyright can be lodged with the Australian Customs allowing Customs to seize any imported counterfeit goods under certain circumstances.

This entry was posted by David Longmuir on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Australian Copyright, Australian Trademarks, New Zealand Copyright, New Zealand Trademarks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.