Legal Report 2014

27 Apr 2015

Introduction
By Magnus Cormack
Director of Legal Affairs

The Legal Affairs department has had another busy year.

In addition to its core function of protecting the description "Scotch Whisky" against direct or indirect misuse, including by investigation, legal action, negotiation and administrative and criminal complaints, members of the team have been active in promoting the work of the department both in the UK and abroad.

During 2014, new proceedings were authorised in respect of 19 different brands covering Belgium, China, Curacao, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, New Zealand, the Netherlands and Scotland. At any one time, the team of five lawyers, a paralegal and two data assistants will be handling between 60 to 70 cases, in addition to a substantial trade mark case load. Whilst it is only a small sample, details of some of these cases and the extent of the wide ranging trade mark work will be evident from the reports that follow.

The team has also been active in providing advice to both members and others on compliance with Scotch Whisky labelling requirements and the Scotch Whisky Verification Scheme.