The rise of English sparkling wine: IP lessons from Champagne’s historic legacy

Over the past two decades, the English sparkling wine industry has experienced remarkable growth, with vineyard and wine-making growth projected to continue at pace. A trip to Reims in France (the ‘City of Champagne’) last year got me thinking, what IP lessons can English winemakers learn as the English winemaking sector continues to flourish? It is a well-known fact that the enterprising women also known as “Les Veuves” (The Widows) transformed Champagne from a regional wine in France to a global luxury symbol.

Insights from Champagne’s brand and design strategies

So, what valuable insights can be taken from the Champagne Houses’ successes in brand and design innovation?

Word marks and logos: Brand names and specific terms are crucial for establishing a strong identity. For example, the names “Taittinger” and “Dom Pérignon” are instantly recognisable and protected by trademarks across the world. In the UK, many winemakers have registered their vineyard names as trademark registrations, as well as their logos.  Trademarks can even protect the labels on wine bottles, as well as any other distinctive elements that may feature on the bottles. The recent Court of Appeal decision in Thatchers v Aldi emphasises why brands should carefully consider registering packaging and product labels in the UK. Thatchers successfully relied on their trademark registration covering the get-up of its cloudy lemon cider to protect against Aldi’s lookalike cider product. Whilst obviously being a triumph for Thatchers in terms of its own IP registration strategy, the decision also highlights that even 2D trademarks containing a product name can be enforced against 3D packaging containing a different product name.

3D shape trademarks: It may not be obvious, but distinctive labels and bottle designs can also be protected as 3D trademarks.For example, the iconic bottle shapes of Moët & Chandon, Don Pérignon and Ruinart are all registered 3D trademarks in the EU. In addition, Champagne House POMMERY own a 3D trademark in the UK – the description of its 3D mark in the UK is as follows: The bottle packaging consists of a silver foil around the neck displaying the word “POMMERY” appearing bottom to top in black font, a violet, silver and gold neck ringer, a violet label with gold and silver contour, with the word “POMMERY” appearing in black font. Several designs of Taittinger’s champagne bottle boxes have also been registered in France as 3D shape trademarks.

Colour trademarks: Although notoriously difficult to register, it is worth mentioning the attempt by the owners of Veuve Clicquot, MHCS (a subsidiary of Moët Hennessy), to register its famous yellow label by an EU trademark registration.  The application was filed back in 1998 and proceeded to registration.  However, it was successfully invalidated by Lidl (on the grounds of lacking inherent distinctiveness). MHCS has subsequently filed an appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union. 

As an English winemaker, if you have a distinctive colour to protect, the strategy to protect it will need to be well-thought out and legal advice with a specialist is recommended.

Design rights: The overall visual appearance of packaging can be protected through design rights.Provided the designs have not been disclosed to the public more than 12 months ago, design rights are a useful tool for protecting the visual appearance of many wine-related items. For example, Ruinart launched a unique chalk-style packaging (also referred to as Ruinart’s “second skin” case) to cover their bottles and to preserve the champagne’s taste until serving – it was the industry’s first eco-friendly packaging perfectly moulded to the shape of the bottle, and given that champagne is kept in chalk caves, the “second skin” design is certainly innovative.  To protect the design from copycats, registered design protection was obtained in the UK and EU.

Aside from packaging and bottle shapes, design rights can be utilised for wine accessories such as pouring stoppers, ice buckets and the shape of wine cooling bags.  MHCS have several design registrations covering champagne accessories.  If you are a winemaking business in the UK and are diversifying your packaging choices to create new and innovative designs, exploring design protection would be worthwhile.

Designation of Origin

Champagne is perhaps the most well-known example of a product protected by a geographical indication (GI). The UK has an equivalent protection in the Protected Designation of Origin, Sussex PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) was granted in 2023 – the PDO is a certification that guarantees the quality and authenticity of sparkling wines made in East and West Sussex named “Sussex Sparkling”.

Conclusions

Establishing strong IP protection early on is crucial to the long-term success and international recognition of the English sparkling wine industry. As English sparkling wine continues to gain prominence, the foundations laid today through careful IP strategy will assist its future position in the global wine market. The rich history of Champagne producing provides valuable insights for English sparkling wine producers as they develop their own brand and design protection strategies.