Cereal stoush comes to a crunch
AUSSIE tennis ace Thanasi Kokkinakis is at the centre of a court battle with Kellogg’s over the right to officially brand himself “Special K’’.
Kokkinakis and volatile doubles partner Nick Kyrgios have been affectionately dubbed Australia’s Special Ks by commentators and the public. An unofficial Special Ks Twitter account has also been created in their honour.
But US multinational Kellogg’s – which holds a 59-yearold Australian trademark for its Special K breakfast cereal – has launched Federal Court action to prevent Kokkinakis, 21, from using Special K as part of a branding campaign across clothing and tennis apparel.
The matter has been set down for a directions hearing in the Federal Court today, and comes nearly 18 months after Kellogg’s first lodged its opposition. “Special K is obviously an iconic cereal brand,” a company spokeswoman said.