Legislation passed parliament yesterday enabling Wine Australia to establish a Wine Export Label Directory to help wine brand owners protect their export wine labels against copycat labelling.
Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said the passing of the Wine Australia Amendment (Label Directory) Act 2020 will lead to the creation of an online database of all Australian export wine labels.
Anyone will be able upload an image of any wine label they find, and it will be compared to a list of genuine exported Australian wine labels. This will allow you to see if it is the genuine product, or whether it may be a copycat label.
“Industry asked the Government to help identify and prevent the use of copycat labelled wines by establishing a label directory—this is exactly what this legislation will do,” Minister Littleproud said.
“This directory, overseen by Wine Australia, will further build the confidence that discerning international consumers have in Australian wine. By stopping copycat brands, consumers can know they are buying a safe, quality, and delicious Australian product.
“Australia has a reputation as a producer of premium wines. It’s important we support an industry that directly employs over 69,000 people to protect its brand, which is one of its most important assets.
“The government is supporting the development of the Label Directory by committing $417,000 in funding, plus additional contingency funds, from the $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package.
Regulations implementing the detail of the directory are currently being finalised with input from an industry-led Label Directory Reference Group. The database is expected to commence in April 2021.
