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.
Thunder Road are isolating themselves as their actions are contrary to the norm in the Australian independent beer industry. Ripping off decades old heritage brands is completey different to passing off your product as someone else’s. “Pacific” conjures up images of bright blue waters, brilliant white and gold sand, palm trees and coral reefs. Someone explain why they chose orange and green to market their “Pacific Ale” other than they are trying to pass off their product as Stone ? We put up with the blatant lies and obfuscations from politicians, CEOs and governments, but we shouldn’t condone these behaviours in this industry. I adopted a stance of never supporting Thunder Road in my future, but now I will actively act in any way I can to discourage everyone I meet to avoid their products. Thunder Road, pull your head in!