There is more than a whiff of poetic justice about the fact that fashion designer Trelise Cooper is getting grief from a Central Otago organic farm because she wants to use her own name.
Cooper, remember, is the woman who waged a 20-month legal battle to stop Arrowtown-basedaccessories-maker Tamsin Cooper from using her own name as a trademark. The matter was settled "amicably" - which is lawyerspeak for saying only the lawyers made any money - last July.
Now Trelise finds herself in the legal sights of Treliske, one of the country's biggest organic farms, which registered that name in 1993. "We think that name actually belongs to us," says Treliske director Jackie Aitchison.
You can't argue with that - assuming she is referring to "Treliske". But that doesn't get her "Trelise" too.
The Intellectual Property Organisation of New Zealand, which registers these trademarks, told Aitchison that "aurally and conceptually" the potential confusion she alleged was unlikely.
A quick click on the rival companies' websites confirms that any confusion that might exist for the orthographically challenged wouldn't last long: Treliske's wholesome, handsome Country Life knitwear is not likely to be mistaken, even at a quick glance, for Trelise's flouncy, frilly confections.
In any case, if Treliske wants to stop Trelise saying Trelise, shouldn't the Trellis Company (branches in Avondale and Hamilton) be worried? Should manufacturers of trestle tables rename their product range?
As in the previous case, the parties concerned should drop the matter and get back to work. There are export markets to be conquered here. Making lawyers rich is a mug's game.
