Federal Court finds that SIGNATURE marks for wine are not deceptively similar

In Samuel Smith & Son Pty Ltd v Pernod Ricard Winemakers Pty Ltd, Samuel Smith has failed in its attempt to stop Pernod Ricard from selling wine bearing the BAROSSA SIGNATURE mark on the basis that it infringed its THE SIGNATURE trademark registration. The case highlights that individual descriptive words can function as a trademark when combined together, and that a sub-brand, when used in conjunction with a house mark, can still function as a separate trademark.