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.