AAPAn organic food supplier has launched a legal battle against supermarket giant Woolworths over a phrase used in a marketing campaign starring celebrity cook Margaret Fulton.
The supplier claims Woolworths has infringed on its trademark by using the words "Honest to Goodness" in its latest advertising push, launched two weeks ago with television commercials, recipe cards and a website featuring Ms Fulton.
Counsel for Organic Marketing Australia (OMA), which trades as Honest to Goodness, told a Federal Court judge on Tuesday it began using its trademark in 2003, and since then the business had developed a "reputation in name and brand".
"When people hear the words Honest to Goodness ... the applicant's business springs to mind," OMA's barrister Ian Wylie said.
Matt Ward and his wife started Honest to Goodness nine years ago and today the "boutique wholesaler and retailer" supplies products to 350 specialist and independent food stores in Australia.
Mr Wylie told Justice Anna Katzmann that Woolworths was aware of the Honest To Goodness business because in 2009 it had explored the possibility of Mr Ward supplying a product but he declined the offer.
He also said that, given the scale of Woolworths, it "must have" done some basic checks on intellectual property.
"We can't say the company consciously engaged in wrongdoing ... but we do say ... the matter was considered and (Woolworths) proceeded aware of the risks," Mr Wylie said.
He also said it appeared attempts had been made to "refine" the phrase in the campaign by tagging them with other words such as "Margaret Fulton" and "Family Meals".
Mr Wylie agreed this was of some comfort to his client but said the question to ask was what damage had already been done.
Arguing for an injunction, Mr Wylie said although there would be significant costs involved with the campaign it would ony be a tiny fraction of Woolworths' sales and profits.
In terms of damage suffered to Honest to Goodness, Mr Wylie said it would be an "enormous challenge" to quantify because "what we are talking about is market share".
"It will have sales taken away ... and it will have customers less likely to want to deal with it because of an association that they see (with Woolworths)," he said.
Mr Wylie said Honest to Goodness's clients stock and sell its products because they are not distributed to mass markets.
Woolworths is fighting the case and will argue that the phrase consists of "ordinary English words".
The hearing is continuing.
The supplier claims Woolworths has infringed on its trademark by using the words "Honest to Goodness" in its latest advertising push, launched two weeks ago with television commercials, recipe cards and a website featuring Ms Fulton.
Counsel for Organic Marketing Australia (OMA), which trades as Honest to Goodness, told a Federal Court judge on Tuesday it began using its trademark in 2003, and since then the business had developed a "reputation in name and brand".
"When people hear the words Honest to Goodness ... the applicant's business springs to mind," OMA's barrister Ian Wylie said.
Matt Ward and his wife started Honest to Goodness nine years ago and today the "boutique wholesaler and retailer" supplies products to 350 specialist and independent food stores in Australia.
Mr Wylie told Justice Anna Katzmann that Woolworths was aware of the Honest To Goodness business because in 2009 it had explored the possibility of Mr Ward supplying a product but he declined the offer.
He also said that, given the scale of Woolworths, it "must have" done some basic checks on intellectual property.
"We can't say the company consciously engaged in wrongdoing ... but we do say ... the matter was considered and (Woolworths) proceeded aware of the risks," Mr Wylie said.
He also said it appeared attempts had been made to "refine" the phrase in the campaign by tagging them with other words such as "Margaret Fulton" and "Family Meals".
Mr Wylie agreed this was of some comfort to his client but said the question to ask was what damage had already been done.
Arguing for an injunction, Mr Wylie said although there would be significant costs involved with the campaign it would ony be a tiny fraction of Woolworths' sales and profits.
In terms of damage suffered to Honest to Goodness, Mr Wylie said it would be an "enormous challenge" to quantify because "what we are talking about is market share".
"It will have sales taken away ... and it will have customers less likely to want to deal with it because of an association that they see (with Woolworths)," he said.
Mr Wylie said Honest to Goodness's clients stock and sell its products because they are not distributed to mass markets.
Woolworths is fighting the case and will argue that the phrase consists of "ordinary English words".
The hearing is continuing.
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