Battle of the Tridents to live on another day.
Two seafood companies – separated by thousands of miles of ocean – have been in courts over the use of the name “Trident”.
A company since the 1970s, Trident Foods – a wholly owned subsidiary of Manassen Foods Australia which sells Asian flavours and ingredients – has owned the Australian trade mark “TRIDENT”. However, when the US company Trident Seafoods – headquartered in Seattle – wished to enter the Australian market, to sell seafood products under its own “TRIDENT SEAFOODS’” brand in 2013, a legal challenge followed.
Litigation and Dispute Resolution lawyer Iain Freeman explained on his company site this registration of the application was blocked by the trade marks held by Trident Foods. So in response, Trident Seafoods applied to remove Trident Foods’ marks for non-use.
The two companies have been fighting over names and trademarks for five years.
On Thursday, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that Trident Seafoods should be granted an extension of time and leave to appeal and its appeal should be allowed, potentially allowing them to sell fish products in Australia. The product portfolio includes whitefish, especially pollock, wild salmon and farmed salmon.
