Importer fights Sanitarium over Weetabix
Along legal battle between cereal giant Sanitarium and a New Zealand-based British grocery shop is heading to court this year.
Sanitarium took issue with Lisa Wilson’s shop, A Little Bit of Britain, which operates in Riccarton, Kaiapoi and online, when it tried to import boxes of British breakfast cereal Weetabix.
The product is similar to Sanitarium’s Weet-Bix and Sanitarium says its name infringes its trademark.
The imports were stopped at the border and Wilson was told a High Court ruling was required to release them.
A date for the hearing has been set for July 30.
Wilson said she had been asked for the names, addresses and nationalities of all the customers who had bought Weetabix from her. ‘‘We told them we thought that was irrelevant.’’
She said the legal fight had been an extra cost her small business didn’t need. ‘‘We’re standing our ground on principle because we feel we should be able to sell it in our shops.’’
In a written statement, Sanitarium said it had no choice but to defend its trademark.
‘‘We have worked hard to reach a resolution with A Little Bit of Britain and enter into an agreement similar to those we have in place with other Weetabix importers. Unfortunately, we have no other option than to seek a resolution through the courts.
‘‘Sanitarium Weet-Bix is an iconic Kiwi brand loved by thousands of Kiwis and one which we have a responsibility to protect.’’
Alex Sims, associate professor of commercial law at the University of Auckland business school, said Sanitarium was within its rights to try and keep its brand name from becoming generic.
‘‘If manufacturers want to have products that can be sold around the world, then they need to choose a name that does not describe the goods and also is not similar to what other people are using for the same or similar goods.
‘‘This is what happened, with, for example, Zespri. Zespri is an invented word that bears no similarity at all with kiwifruit.’’