Comments on: Maker of Yellow Tail sues Bronco over Down Under

By: MichaelB

MichaelB — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:51:31 +0000

Hey, Ed, thanks for the link to the TJ label. Now that I’ve seen it, yes, I think Charles Shaw International is infringing on Yellowtail’s trademark.

By: Bulging Bracket

Bulging Bracket — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:28:36 +0000

Under Chuck (love that titling Ed) seems closer to Yellowtail’s look and feel. Still – how do you defend against the use of standard punctuation or the use of Australian terms to refer to wine that comes from grapes grown in Australia?

They might have a better chance going after a small winery or a start up – could snow them with legal costs. But Franzia? I’m expecting Yellowtail shipments to be found contaminated with drugs, illegal immigrants, and weapons headed for Iran! Don’t fight Bronco, just not worth it.

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:19:45 +0000

Here is a link to a pic of the Chuck version

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stptatmy/3830192206/

By: GregT

GregT — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:28:50 +0000

Interesting lawsuit. The labels look like they could be made by the same designer but don’t many labels in Bordeaux resemble each other?

The Penguin labels are more similar to the Yellow Tail labels IMO.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:54:54 +0000

In response to Frank

Yes we are in a huge drought in here in AUS, but we also have a huge oversupply of grapes & Yellowtail are able to pick and choose there grape supplies & name there price too. Unfortunately AUS has the wine stigma of cheap industrial cheap wine producer – because of the Yellow Tail dominance around the world

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:43:55 +0000

Crane Lake sells under its own label, but the [Down Under]version is sold at Trader Joe’s.

By: mark

mark — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:29:24 +0000

the point [yellow tail] is making is that Franzia is using the logo of [yellow tail]…the brackets ARE part of the logo is what they are claiming…

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:00:10 +0000

@Sue – do you have a photo? Or anyone else near a TJ’s w a cameraphone?

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:40:04 +0000

I think you’re looking at the wrong label. The Down Under sold at Trader Joe’s (which is not the Crane Lake)is a different label and looks a lot more like the Yellow Tail.

By: Frank

Frank — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:54:18 +0000

Is there anything to the rumor that, due to the Australian drought, Yellow Tail has sourced its grapes from outside Australia?

By: Brian Mitchell

Brian Mitchell — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:01:05 +0000

This is exactly what Fred likes. A senseless lawsuit that will do nothing except bring him lots of free publicity for his brand. They would be better off just leaving it alone. Fred is laughing all over them right now. He didn’t get to be one of the biggest producers in the industry by being a knucklehead, he knows exactly what he is doing.

By: Dylan

Dylan — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:44:56 +0000

My only confusion remains with the issue. I would not have trouble noting the differences between the two bottles. The motives seem more aligned with self-preservation rather than some kind of care for the consumer.

By: Jack O'C

Jack O'C — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:56:16 +0000

Is it possible that this is just an attempt by Yellow Tail to aggressively protect its brand? This strategy certainly has worked well for Disney in the past. Making it known to other winemakers that producing anything that threatens Yellow Tail’s market-share may be an extremely effective business tactic.

That said, I’m not certain a reasonable consumer is about to confuse these two bottles.

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:54:22 +0000

Color me a confused consumer. Which wording are they referring to as being “Australian-centric”? Product of Australia?

However will I be able to tell apart any of my favorite critter-label mass-market ultra-manipulated wines?

By: phil

phil — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:10:07 +0000

Yes, it’s very confusing when you are trying to identify which is the worst of the two wines.