Baldwins
Added: Feb 22, 2012
Australia has taken a world first step in passing legislation mandating plain packaging of tobacco products.
As of December 1, 2012, all cigarettes, pipe tobacco and cigar products sold in Australia will be required to be in plain olive-brown packets with no branding, trade mark logos, colours, or promotional text. The name of the brand of cigarettes will be featured on the pack in a standard colour, position and font.
The controversial legislation has faced widespread opposition from cigarette companies and raises serious legal issues having essentially negated the intellectual property rights gained by an entire industry sector in highly valued trade marks and branding. The Australian intellectual property office estimates that there around 3,000 trademarks for tobacco and tobacco products.