Bega

Cheese company Bega has landed itself in court over concerns Fonterra's divestment of its Australian dairy business will infringe on a longstanding trade mark licence.

Kraft has agreed to pay Bega $9.25 million as part of a settlement resolving a long-running battle over peanut butter trade dress rights, after the US consumer goods giant exhausted all its options for appealing a ruling that found Bega had acquired the rights to the trade dress.

Cheese maker Saputo's proposed trade mark for an adorable cheese cartoon figure is substantially identical to Bega's intellectual property for a 'smiling anthropomorphised' cheese biped and cannot be trade marked, a delegate of the trade marks office has found.