Push to put cork in wine label copycats

COPYCAT wine labels impersonating famous brands like Penfolds will be placed on a directory to protect Australian exports.

The Morrison government on Monday introduced legislation to federal parliament creating the wine label intellectual property directory.

Treasury Wines Estate has been cracking down on counterfeit labelling after labels imitating Penfolds Grange and other high-end wines were sold into the lucrative Chinese market.

The new directory would be publicly accessible and require wine exporters to submit images of labels before being given export certification.

Copycats can be stripped of their export licence and those being copied could also take private legal action.

In May, Treasury Wine Estates confirmed it had won its case against “copycat operator” Rush Rich in the Federal Court of Australia.

“This positive outcome affirms TWE’s leadership in protecting it’s IP rights against copycat and counterfeit operators,” the company said in a statement.