Fashion house Chanel accused of 'bullying' small Australian chocolate maker (original) (raw)
By Jared Lynch
Updated June 26, 2015 — 1.32am
Global fashion house Chanel has forced a small Australian chocolate maker to change its branding after it claimed a trademark infringement on its No.5 perfume.
A letter from Chanel's lawyers was the last thing that Chocolate @ No.5 owner Alison Peck expected when she set up her company. After all, her business is a "two-man show," named after its address – 5 Main Street Hahndorf, a village in the Adelaide Hills – and makes chocolate, not perfume or haute couture.
Certain behaviour can compel you to dive for unhealthy food.
Her company would have most likely gone unnoticed by the multinational fashion giant had it not applied for a trademark registration.
Last year, another chocolate maker - this one from Melbourne - tagged a photo on social media network Instagram using the same name as Ms Peck's operation.
The quaint Chocolate @No. 5 is located in the Adelaide Hills.
"I thought I better protect my logo," said Ms Peck, and started the costly trademark registration process.
In the last week of the period where opposition to a proposed trademark can be filed, Chanel's lawyers sprung to action and sent Ms Peck a letter demanding she withdraw her registration, ditch her logo, and not use the digit or the word 'five' in her business name.
Ms Peck agreed to the first two requests, but "lost her temper" on the third.
Chanel wanted Ms Peck to only use the digit or word 'five' while her business was located at it current address. "It was implied if I ever moved I would have to change the name".
Chanel's signature scent - perfume No. 5Credit: Bill Hogan
"That was when I realised I was being bullied. They don't own the number five.
"In the future do we go to school and go 'one, two, three, four, trademark protected, six?' It's just crazy.
The chocolate maker's old logo, which drew to the attention of Chanel's lawyers.
"Never mind that China is churning out [counterfeit] Chanel at a rate of knots. I was not trying to pass of my chocolates as being Chanel No.5. That's just silly because it's chocolate."
'One, two, three, four, trademark protected, six?'
Ms Peck said she has spent a "few thousand dollars" on her trademark registration. She said because she withdrew it, she would get some of the money back.
The Adelaide chocolate maker's new logo.
But she has also had to change the branding of her business.
"I was happy to withdraw my application and change my logo because there is nothing wrong with a bit of freshness to a product. Our product is still the same."
This appears to have placated Chanel, which Ms Peck said had backed down on its other demands. But the fashion titan is "monitoring" her business.
"I haven't entered an agreement or signed anything with them, so there can be no breaches."
Ms Peck bought the business in 2010. Its previous logo used a capital 'N', superscript lower case 'O' and figure five, similar to the No.5 perfume.
"When I bought the business, it had the logo. I was possibly a bit naïve. I just thought let's carry on, I thought it was great.
"But this multi-billion dollar corporation is trying to take me out. It was so silly. I was no threat to them."
"We're a tiny, little shop in the main street of Hahndorf. I have one chocolatier who works with me. We have a little café on the side… it's basically a two-man show. That's all that it is.
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Ms Peck said she decided to change her branding because she didn't have the time or finances to defend it through the courts.
The new logo comprises the word chocolate with a larger number five, replacing the letter 'O'.
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