Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) expressed support for new Wine Australia Regulations 2018, which increase Wine Australia’s power to suspend or cancel export licenses and strengthens Wine Australia’s ability to stop copycat exports.
Angus McPherson, Managing Director of TWE Australia and New Zealand, said that TWE supports the new regulations, which empower Wine Australia to consider intellectual property issues and misleading conduct when approving exports of wine, and when determining whether an applicant is fit to hold a license to export.
“Wine Australia is now in a strong position to identify and prevent the export of copycat Australian wines. Any such product can now be stopped by Wine Australia because it puts the reputation of Australian wine at risk, and may breach Australian law and the laws of other countries.
“Without these strengthened regulations and focus from Wine Australia, the reputation of ‘Brand Australia’ has been at significant risk. Exports of copycat products from Australia have been jeopardizing our industry’s continued growth,” McPherson said.
TWE will continue to work with industry bodies, government agencies — including Wine Australia — and commercial partners to protect the long-term reputation and success of Australian wine. This requires a continued focus from TWE, the industry and the government on stopping copycat exports and cracking down on counterfeit products.
McPherson added: “TWE also applauds IP Australia’s recent decision to refuse trade mark applications made by the copycat operator, Rush Rich, on the grounds of bad faith, as it was clearly attempting to appropriate Penfolds brand reputation. This is another example of how Australian authorities are willing and able to stand tall to protect Australian brands, and we are pleased to see such a stance being adopted across the board.”