Reschke, a small family-owned Coonawarra winemaker, has finally come up winners after a four-year legal stoush with the owners of the multinational energy drink, Red Bull. As you might have guessed, it’s all over the image of a bull. Described in their own terms, the Reschke bull is drawn with ‘seven flowing but unconnected lines’. Red Bull’s bull is of two bulls depicted under a rising sun. The first is abstract, the second is more graphic. In 1999, when Reschke applied to register the trade mark for its wine brand, it was contested by Red Bull, primarily on the grounds that the two trade marks were deceptively similar. Claudia Murray, Trade Marks Hearing Officer, ruled at the end of March that the trade marks of the parties are not ‘substantially identical’ or ‘deceptively similar’. Red Bull has been ordered to pay costs and the Reschke Bull will become the registered trade mark of Reschke. My sincere congratulations to the small business. I’d also add that anyone who buys a bottle of Reschke wine thinking it was a can of Red Bull is in for a big disappointment. And I say that with absolutely no disrespect whatsoever to the Reschkes or their wines!
