The local arm of
Nestle has taken Woolworths to court over its decision to import San
Pellegrino mineral water rather than buy it from the local licence
holder which is Nestle.
Woolworths furthermore promoted the sale of the traditional Italian sparkling mineral water at a vastly reduced price.
Nestle has been unable to pursue Woolworths over the practice known as
parallel importing but has claimed instead the grocery giant breached
its ownership of the intellectual property which protects the long-neck
green glass bottle.
Nestle has succeeded in halting promotion of the cut-price drinks
pending the outcome of its suit. The first hearing will take place in
the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday.
In a separate but similar case, Nestle, through San Pellegrino, is
suing the local competitor Cantarella Bros, saying its Santa Vittoria
mineral water is confusing consumers because its green bottle and label
are deceptively similar to San Pellegrino's packaging. Cantarella has
been distributing its water in Australia for 12 years.
Nestle sells San Pellegrino sparkling mineral water in a long-neck
green glass bottle with a seal, a wrap-around neck label and a
rectangular centre label. Santa Vittoria comes in the same, which
Nestle says breaches Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act.
