Page 6 - Packaging News Magazine July-August 2018

NEWS
www.packagingnews.com.au July-August 2018
DIARY
V energy loses colour battle
THE maker of V energy drinks has lost a six-year legal battle to trademark the shade of green used on its cans after a swatch of the wrong shade of green was mistakenly attached to the original application.
Frucor Beverages Limited sought to trademark the bright green used on cans and branding of energy drink V, which has been sold in Australia since 1999.
The Japanese-owned compa- ny applied to trademark the shade of green, which it calls “V Green”, in 2012, but had the
application rejected four years later. The trademark was op- posed by The Coca-Cola Com- pany, which owns the rival en- ergy drink Mother.
Frucor then launched an ap- peal in the Federal Court, but in a decision handed down this month, Justice David Yates dismissed the appeal bid.
The shade of green Frucor wanted to trademark is called Pantone 376C, but under the Pantone Matching System, let- ters are added to indicate the surface the colour is printed on.
In 2012, when the applica- tion was first filed, a Frucor so- licitor attached a colour swatch of what was not Pantone 376C, but a different shade of green.
Coca-Cola argued that Fru- cor had in fact submitted a swatch of Pantone 7727C by mistake.
Frucor argued in the Federal Court appeal that the written description “Pantone 376C” should be taken as the colour they wanted to trademark, not the swatch of a clearly differ- ent green. But it didn’t hold up in court.
As features of the trademark – in this case, Pantone 376C – are uncertain and can’t be ob- jectively determined, Frucor hadn’t met the legal test it needed to in order to register it as a trademark.
Frucor had previously re- leased cans with different co- lours to denote different fla- voured drinks, all of which had the V logo on them. ■
V is not for Victory. Frucor’s attempts to trademark the bright green used on cans and branding of energy drink V were defeated in court.
APCO cracks the whip
THE Australian Packaging Cov- enant Organisation (APCO) is shining a torch on Australian businesses that are failing to meet their sustainable packag- ing obligations.
After auditing several thou- sand businesses with a turn- over of more than $5 million, the APCO will then notify them of their need to comply with the sustainable packag- ing obligations outlined in the National Environmental Pro- tection (Used Packaging Mate- rials) Measure 2011 (NEPM).
The Sustainability Brand Audit aids in the APCO’s goal of making packaging 100 per cent reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025.
The target was announced by Australia’s Environment Min- isters in April, and the APCO is currently developing a national
roadmap for how Australia can deliver on it.
The audit incorporates busi- nesses from a range of sectors, including food and beverage, health care and pharmaceuti- cals, printing, and toys and sporting goods wholesale.
Businesses liable under the NEPM include any organisation with an annual turnover of $5 million or more, that is either in the supply chain of consumer packaging or a retailer.
APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly said reaching the landmark tar- get will require “a com-
plete transformation”
of how society thinks about packaging.
“Businesses play a crucial role in making this target a reality,” she said.
“There are a number
of basic packaging require- ments that all Australian busi- nesses are required to meet.
“One of our responsibilities is to notify the businesses who aren’t meeting these and pro- vide them with the tools, re- sources and pathways to track and improve their packaging sustainability,” she said.
APCO has begun a two- month consultation process with key stakeholders to un- derstand what the industry requires to make the target achievable. ■
CEO Brooke Donnelly said reaching the target will require
“a complete transformation” of how society thinks about packaging.
6
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