Success in the wine industry is entirely dependent upon an understanding of:

1. Trade mark protection in home and foreign jurisdictions. We provide strategic advice to wine makers and exporters on what to register and where. As one example of the specialist knowledge this area requires, in the United Arab Emirates, because of religious barriers on the sale of alcohol, wine trade marks need to be registered under the category of "fruit juices". Labels and other aspects of a wine makers' brand message can be capable of registration;
2. Geographical indicators of origin. Wine makers cannot use a mark in Australia which is in the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Act's regulations as having geographical significance in Europe. David Stewart, a partner of our organisation, was counsel in a leading case regarding the application of the Australian Wine and Brady Corporation Act to trade mark registrability: see Re Lawrence (2006) 67 IPR 455 (the "Feet First decision": www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/trademarks/hearings/989416.pdf ). David has been a member of the International Trade Mark Association's Geographical Indications Asia-Pacific Sub-committee.
3. Counterfeit wines. Wines are increasingly prone to counterfeiting. We provide watching services for small and large wine makers and exporters on websites such as ebay and Baidu.com to monitor counterfeits, and also have worked with customs services both in Australia and in overseas jurisdictions to seize counterfeit products.

Wrays have helped dozens of wine makers to protect their brands and understand the complexities of geographical indicators in a variety of export markets.