Business
Oxenham puts end to family feud over ‘unfair competition and parasitism’
Eureka EC Oxenham has put an end to the family dispute against Domaines & Terroirs Ltd and the oenologist Alexander Oxenham. Five years after the dispute erupted, the group has withdrawn its case before the Supreme Court.
According to Le Mauricien newspaper, Eureka EC Oxenham had accused the founder of Takamaka Boutique Winery for engaging in “unfair competition and parasitism” through the production of products similar to those of Eureka EC Oxenham.
Les Domaines et Terroirs Ltd and Alexander Oxenham won the first round of the family saga when the chambers judge refused to issue the interlocutory injunction order requested by EC Oxenham Ltd.
This was reportedly aimed at preventing the use of the family name Oxenham in the context of the joint winemaking activities of Alexander Oxenham and Domaine & Terroirs Ltd.
The accusations of unfair competition and parasitism made by EC Oxenham were rejected.
Judge Gaytree Jugessur-Manna concluded that Alexander Oxenham had the right to use his surname on his products and that he had taken all the necessary precautions to distinguish his products from those of Eureka EC Oxenham in order to avoid any confusion.
The judge pointed out that there was no violation of the trademark right.
Hence, Alexander Oxenham was allowed to put his signature on the bottles of wine created by him and produced by Domaines et Terroirs Ltd.