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Veuve Clicquot to sue winery over labels
Champagne giant Veuve Clicquot is suing an Italian sparkling wine producer in a dispute over the colour of its labels, according to reports in the Italian media.
According to a report on winenews.it, Veuve Clicquot has launched legal proceedings against winery Ciro Picariello over claims the label for its Brut Contadino is too similar to its own Yellow Label Champagne.
Based in Italy’s Campania region, the family-owned winery produce 3,500 bottles a year of its sparkling wine featuring an orange label.
However LVMH-owned Veuve Clicquot, based in Reims, claims the similarities between the two labels could cause confusion and lead to economic damage to their brand.
Veuve Clicquot is the second-largest Champagne house in the world and produces up to 18 million bottles per year with an annual turnover of about $1.6 billion.
Supporters of Ciro Picariello have since taken to Twitter to speak out against the legal action using #boicottalavedova to mark their protests.
Nate Nolan tweeted, “Come on VC it’s a diff orange & they’re a tiny producer”, while others called the action “outrageous.”
Veuve Clicquot has been contacted for a comment.
UPDATE: Veuve Clicquot has since released a statement clarifying their position which can be read here.
I will refrain from buying VC until they drop the case.
They should be ashamed of themselves, bullying small producers with small means when LVMH has battalions of lawyers paid for this.
The lawyers would deserve their money if they managed to pull this one off. Different logo, different colour, different name, different dimensions, different wine, different country, different fonts … same old bullying LVMH, though!
18,000,000 takes on 3,500 – but when you have that much muscle you don’t bother about squashing an ant, you do it because you can not because it is the right thing to do… I too will boycott VC – not just for now but forever – along with all other LMVH brands – not that I was buying that many anyway!
This is apallling. Out of line. Who do they think they are at LVMH! There should be a campaign started to inform the public what is happening to give them the chance to choose not to buy LVMH Champagnes. It’s monstrous. It would be nice if Ciro Picariello got as many hits in support as Stephen Cronk at Mirabeau got opening a bottle of wine with his shoe. We at Swig.co.uk for one will not be supporting LVMH Champagne and wine brands.
This is just stupid, who do VC think they are, just another big French bully producing pretty average NV Brut a dn flexing muscles fir effect. It is not surprising that the Grand Marque houses are held in such low regard compared with the far better Grand Marque growers who still produce champagnes of glorious style and quality
Frankly speaking it is a very strange position from LVMH, as I cannot understand what´s the similarity between the two labels. I assume that LVMH continues to manipulate the system and there is no need to do it as Veuve Clicquot is so well known more than LV for itself.Vanity is all right but arrogance… It could be good for the owners to have a look for the Champagne brand history and they can see the difference between the LADY´S behaviour ad their own.
Live and let live and you feel much better. I am a wine business person; unfortunately the confrontation with some French
companies is always current affair.What a shame!!!.
This echoes of a similar case many years ago where the small Tasmanian producer Stefano Lubiana had to change their sparkling label because the colour was regarded too close to VC!
I love VC but this is ridiculous!!!
Looks nothing like their label.
Leave the small company alone!!!!!
That in no way looks the same as VQP. Whatever. Just another reason to buy grower champagne from now on.
I am sure there is a lawyer out there that wouldn’t mind making a name for him or herself. Counter sue. This is a joke. Needs to be a message that stops this BS from VC.
Not Even close…………….No merit at all with this case
VC is just flexing muscle against a small producer. This is ridiculous. I hope everyone switches Champagnes to let VC know how infuriating this is. I will not support them again.
If VC can have challenge with the color and similarity of label there would be only few wines in the world. Its so funny