New Zealand: Foster’s fails to prevent registration of Fiji Beer trademarks by another company

Foster’s Group Limited, the maker of Fiji Bitter and Fiji Gold beer, has failed to prevent the registration of Fiji Beer trademarks that Flour Mills of Fiji (FMF) filed in New Zealand in 2007, Radio Fiji communicated on April, 16.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand says Foster’s and the FMF trade marks are visually and conceptually different, particularly in the style.

It says the inclusion of the letters “fmf” in the logo trademarks strongly suggest that the beer is produced by FMF and not Foster’s.

The Intellectual Property Office says Foster’s trade marks for beer are well known in New Zealand, despite their beer not being sold there.

The assistant commissioner who ruled on the case didn’t want to approve a disclaimer for Foster’s, a practice the Intellectual Property Office dropped some years ago.

16 April, 2010