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Australia
This page considers appellations schemes in Australia
and New Zealand.
It covers -
Australia
TRIPs does not specify the mechanism through which members
implement their geographical indication obligations under
that agreement.
The Australian scheme centres on the Australian Wine
& Brandy Corporation Amendment Act 1993 (AWBCAA),
Commonwealth legislation that gives effect to the Australian-EC
Wine Accord on Appellations of Origin for Brandy &
Wine.
The Australian Wine & Brandy Corporation Act 1980
characterises geographical indication as
- a
word or expression used in the description and presentation
of the wine to indicate the country, region or locality
in which the wine originated; or
-
a word or expression used in the description and presentation
of the wine to suggest that a particular quality, reputation
or characteristic of the wine is attributable to the
wine having originated in the country, region or locality
indicated by the word or expression.
The
Accord fostered creation of Geographic Indications made
up of zones, regions and subregions, documented in a national
Register maintained by the Corporation. That demarcation
was concerned with ensuring authenticity rather than a
definitive assessment of quality.
By 1996 Australia had been subdivided into broad zones,
albeit with little basis in geological or climactic particularities,
and regions. A region must be discrete and homogenous
in its growing attributes, contain at least five differently
owned vineyards of at least five hectares each and produce
at least 500 tonnes of grapes per year. Australia agreed
to phase out use of generic names such as champagne, burgundy
and sherry that had been used for wines produced and consumed
within the country.
The Accord was complemented by a Label Integrity Program
(LIP) under the auspices of the Australian Wine &
Brandy Corporation (AWBC). Initially the LIP required
that if a region or grape variety was named on a bottle,
80% of the what was in the bottle had to comply. (95%
of the wine had to comply if a particular vintage was
stated.) Those figures were later changed to 85%. The
AWBC was in charge of keeping records and auditing claims.
Australia meets TRIPs obligations in relation to other
geographical indications through common law (passing off),
consumer protection and
unfair competition law.
The salient legislation is the national
- Trade
Practices Act 1974, aimed at preventing misleading
conduct, including representations concerning the place
of origin of goods
- Trade
Marks Act 1995, which allows for registration of
a geographical indication term, subject to meeting certain
criteria.
underpinned
by state/territory legislation (fair trading and food
safety enactments) and codes such as the Australia New
Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) Labelling & Advertising
Standard.
The Trade Marks Act 1995 characterises
'geographical indication' in relation to "goods originating
in a particular country or in a region
or locality of that country" as a sign recognised
in that country to indicate that the goods -
- originated
in that country, region or locality; and
-
have a quality, reputation or other characteristic attributable
to their geographical origin.
New Zealand
New Zealand instituted a voluntary Certified Origin system
for wine in 1994, reflecting developments in Australia
and pressure from the EU. A Geographical Indications Bill
was passed in that year but not implemented. It was superseded
by new legislation, the Geographical Indications (Wine
& Spirits) Registration Act, in 2006. The legislation
is underpinned by the common law offence of passing off
and by Section 9 of the Fair Trading Act 1986,
which provides that "no person shall, in trade, engage
in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely
to mislead or deceive".
The New Zealand regime features a hierarchy of geographical
indications -
- New
Zealand
- North
Island or South Island
- sixteen
regions
-
localities
- vineyard.
As
in other wine producing nations with appellation regimes,
85% of the grapes in each wine had to comply with claims
regarding geographic area, vintage or vine variety. Wineries
were required to
keep detailed records for auditing and enforcement of
the Certified Origin system.
The 2004 Geographical Indications legislation
provides
- prohibition
on using a geographical indication for wines and spirits
that do not originate from the area indicated
- use
of a register, with a geographical indication indicating
that a wine or spirit originates from a defined area
and that the quality, reputation or other characteristic
of the wine or spirit is essentially attributable to
that geographical origin;
- treatment
of breaches of the prohibition as breaches of the Fair
Trading Act
- use
of an expert committee to provide advice to the Registrar.
cases
Cases in New Zealand have included -
Comite
Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne v Wineworths
Group Limited [1991] 2 NZLR 432. French wine interests
argued a proprietary right in the name 'champagne',
alleging that Wineworths, the defendant, was engaged
in passing off by advertising and selling a sparkling
wine under the names 'Australian Champagne' and 'Brut
Champagne'. The court found that in New Zealand the
name 'champagne' was distinctive for the French product
and was not used generically to describe any white sparkling
wine. It was accordingly deceptive for traders to seek
to attach themselves to that product's reputation by
using the name to describe sparkling wine made outside
France's Champagne region.
Anheuser-Busch v Budweiser Budvar [2001] 3 NZLR
666
In
Australia, as Stephen Stern noted in 2001, litigation
occurred between the Koppamurra Wine Company and other
vignerons in the same area of south eastern South Australia
wishing to register Koppamurra as the name of a region
and a geographical indication. Litigation between the
proprietor of the 'Port Phillip Estate' winery in Victoria's
Mornington Peninsula and a party selling its wines using
the registered geographical indication 'Port Phillip'
was settled before a final court decision was made.
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