Bass & Flinders wins Ochre Brandy trade mark battle

Bass & Flinders Distillery has finally won a hard-fought campaign to trade mark the identity of its Ochre Fine Brandy, as the company doubles down on its investment in the brandy category.

The Australian Trade Marks Office had refused Bass & Flinders’ August 2021 trade mark application on the grounds that ‘Ochre’ was a generic term used by distillers to describe the colour of brandy.

But hearing officer Debrett Lyons last month accepted Bass & Flinders’ protests that ochre was not used as an official descriptor of colour, nor had it been used by any other Australian distiller in relation to a brandy product.

“I find that people would accept that ochre is a brownish-yellow colour, but also apt to describe deeper orange shades or browns tinctured with red,” said hearing officer Lyons.

“Ochre is not a word I would choose to describe the colour of brandy, nor does it remind me of the colour of brandy.”

She accepted evidence from Bass & Flinders managing director Holly Klintworth that the inspiration for the trade mark was the soils of Red Hill in the Mornington Peninsula region where its distillery is based.

Ochre Brandy: IP lessons for distillers

Klintworth told Drinks Adventures she was relieved by the decision, which only came at the end of a frustrating and costly dispute.

“It was very unfortunate that we had to take it all the way to a hearing, which required us to engage a trade mark lawyer who created a 100-page document of proof and evidence,” she said.

“But I’d do it again, because of all our products, Ochre Fine Brandy was the dream of my father and the reason our distillery was originally established.”

Bass & Flinders head distiller, Holly Klintworth — Bass & Flinders head distiller and managing director, Holly Klintworth

Bass & Flinders was founded in 2009 but the company didn’t pursue the Ochre trade mark until recently.

“It did create a lot of concern that we had been building this brand and telling this story about our flagship product, only to discover many years on that we might have to change its name,” she said.

“Our learning was to look at trade marking product names and brand names as soon as you conceptualise them.”

Committed to Australian brandy

Bass & Flinders recently imported a 1700-litre ex-cognac still from France, which Klintworth said demonstrates its long-term dedication to brandy production.

“It’s about 50 years old, it’s very beautiful and I don’t think there’s anything else like it in Australia,” she said.

Meanwhile, she has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake a six-week internship with a cognac distillery in early 2023.

“I’ll write a report on what I learn and share it with the distilling industry in Australia, and I hope that that will help others,” she said.

You can listen to Holly Klintworth discussing Australian brandy on the Drinks Adventures podcast here, or in the media player below.