Last month, Ornua Foods & Others, the owners of the Kerrygold butter brand, filed a lawsuit against Westland Milk Products, the owners of the Westgold butter brand.
The Irish company claimed that the Westgold branding violated its trade mark and packaging, and it sought an injunction to prevent Westgold butter from being sold in the United States in its current packaging.
Westland Milk chief executive Richard Wyeth says the company is pleased “that the court has confirmed our right to continue with our planned sales plans for Westgold butter in the US”.
“We believe that this will resolve the issue as we pursue our product sales objectives while competing fairly in local and global markets.”
Kerrygold claimed “wilful trademark infringement” in legal documents filed in a US district court in northern California.
The lawsuit sought to prevent Westland from advertising, marketing, distributing, or selling butter products bearing a trademark and trade dress “confusingly similar to Ornua’s federally registered Kerrygold trademarks and trade dress,” according to the preliminary statement.
According to Westland Milk, Westgold’s distinctive packaging is linked to its rich heritage on New Zealand’s West Coast, and the taste of its traditionally churned, grass-fed butter is quickly gaining recognition around the world.
