Buttery prize
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having the last laugh when it comes to cashing in on NZ grass-fed butter.
Ornua Foods & Another, owners of the Kerrygold butter brand filed court proceedings against Westland Milk Products, owners of the Westgold butter brand last month.
The Irish company claimed that the Westgold branding infringes its trade mark and packaging and sought orders preventing continued sales of Westgold butter in the US in the present packaging.
Westland Milk chief executive Richard Wyeth says the company is pleased “that the court has confirmed our right to continue with our planned sales plans for Westgold butter in the US”.
“We trust that this will resolve this matter as we pursue our sales objectives for our products, competing fairly in the local and global markets.”
Kerrygold, claimed "wilful trademark infringement" according to legal documents filed in the US district court in northern California.
The lawsuit was aimed at stopping Westland from advertising, marketing, distributing or selling butter products using a trademark and trade dress "that are confusingly similar to Ornua's federally registered Kerrygold trademarks and trade dress", the preliminary statement said.
Westland Milk said that Westgold's distinctive packaging is linked to its rich heritage on the West Coast of New Zealand and the taste of its traditionally churned, grass-fed butter is rapidly gaining recognition around the world.
