Food, Drink and Accomodation

Trade Mark Protection:

In Australia alone, there are currently over 52,000 registered and pending Trade Marks covering food products, 42,000 covering beverage products and 24,000 for restaurant services. There are also a myriad of technical rules and legal principles concerning the way that various food and beverage products and services are classified and compared when determining registrability or infringement. For instance, you may not be aware that beer and wine are considered to be similar goods even though they are classified in different Trade Mark classes. The right choice of branding is therefore imperative to ensure that your mark is able to be registrable, is enforceable and opening you to attack or challenge from competitors, even those operating in different fields. We can assist with the necessary clearance searches to avoid problems concerning other brands as well as handling the filing and prosecution of your Trade Mark to maximize enforcability.

Wine Law:

There are special Trade Mark provisions relating to the labeling and handling of Trade Mark applications relating to wine, including in relation to geographical indications denoting the origin of your wine products. We can assist you with ensuring that those requirements are satisfied and addressed prior to filing your Trade Mark application.

Commercial Agreements:

We can assist with the drafting and negotiating of all your commercial agreements, including franchise and licensing agreements, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, IP assignments, and website Terms and Conditions/ Privacy Policies.

Labelling and Industry Compliance:

Most food and beverage products are subject to vigilantly regulated packaging and labelling standards with significant penalties available if there is non-compliance. We can formulate a review and clearance strategy for you to ensure that your labelling and packaging meets any required industry standards and that any representations or statements made in your packaging or marketing materials is not likely to contravene the Australian Consumer Law provisions concerning the making of false and misleading representations.