Lawsuit filed over wine label color

Think that the wine labels you use and design don’t really make a difference? You don’t have to look any further than a recent dispute being covered by L.A. Weekly that involves two wine brands with labels that seem distinct, unless you ask Veuve Clicquot.

That’s the long-established vineyard that produces a famous type of champagne. Yet, being distinctive amongst its competitors apparently isn’t enough: it has to make sure its brand security isn’t being infringed upon by a brand from a much smaller vintner in Italy named Ciao Picariello.

A quick glance at the two labels, seen side by side in the L.A. Weekly story, shows them to be pretty distinct. In fact, there doesn’t appear to be much similarity at all. But Clicquot is asserting that the orange shade of the Picariello is too close to its own color and thus a violation of its copyright.

There’s a few things to take into consideration here. While the images look different on the internet, there’s a chance that the similarity is more apparent in-person. This means that companies that produce wine might only think that their labels are individual enough, but could in fact be setting themselves up for accusations, legal headaches and all the rest.

For these reasons, the color must be chosen carefully for your label, as should the label applicators that your company chooses to put into action. When you have reliable tools for making labels, you can be more sure that nothing will get lost in translation, and that the plan you originally had for your labels is still followed.