Nestle has people in the coffee industry fuming with its move to gain sole rights to use images of a cup of coffee.

Its bid to trademark the images comes several years after Nestle successfully registered the trademark “decaf”.

The company argues that its applications to own the images – a cup of coffee in a red mug as viewed from above – is valid because it is “highly distinctive and has been used for more than 20 years.

The Australian Coffee Traders Association says the applications are unacceptable. In a letter to trademark regulator IP Australia, the association says Nestle’s applications should not be registered because the images are “clearly images all coffee traders and cafes want to use.


“There is nothing that distinguishes the cups of coffee from other cups of coffee, yet if these marks proceed to registration, coffee traders using similar images might find themselves inadvertently infringing these trademarks,” the letter reads.

“There is no reason why Nestle should be able to obtain the exclusive right to the use of a picture of a mug, even one of a particular colour…when there would be many examples of cups of various colours used in hundreds, if not thousands, of advertisements for coffee all over Australia.”

Tye Bronneberg, MD of coffee equipment importer Australian Beverage Corporation, said Nestle appeared to be making a conscious attempt to register generic images that all coffee companies use.

“They even tried to register a rosetta so no one could use it in advertising anywhere, and that’s something that’s done everywhere in the world,” he told the Australian Financial Review. (The rosetta is the decoration some baristas swirl onto the top of their coffee creations).

Nestle spokeswoman said the company stood by its application and “respectfully disagrees with the objection that has been lodged against it.”


August 9, 2007

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