‘Pacific Ale’ disputes continue

The Federal Court now has two active disputes over the Pacific Ale name, with Thunder Road having appealed the recent Trade Marks Office ruling in favour of Fermentum (the Stone & Wood holding company).

The first case management hearing for the appeal is scheduled for Friday August 25, with Justice David O’Callaghan presiding.

Thunder Road will effectively have a fresh hearing before the Federal Court, which is able to consider all legal issues relating to the trade mark application, rather than just the Trade Marks Office’s interpretation of the law.

The trade mark dispute is entirely separate to the Federal Court proceedings brought by Stone & Wood against Thunder Road, alleging misleading or deceptive conduct, passing off and trade mark infringement.

The Melbourne brewer won that initial case in July 2016 and the Full Federal Court is yet to rule on the subsequent appeal by Stone & Wood, adjourned since February.

Disclosure: Brews News founder Matt Kirkegaard was engaged as an independent expert witness in the Federal Court case by Stone & Wood. He has had no involvement in the reporting of these disputes.