Treasury Wine Estates Ltd, Australia's largest autonomous winemaker in the world, said Monday May 6 that it had won a lawsuit against a copycat of its prestigious Penfolds brand, sold in China.

China is Australia's largest wine export market, and although supply growth has stalled in recent months, its reputation for quality has supported the rapid growth of sales for several years.

Penfolds wines, and especially the ultra-high-quality Grange vintages, are popular and profitable; in China they are sold under the Ben Fu brand name. The Australian company Rush Rich took advantage of this using these trade names for their products.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd appealed to the Australian Federal Court, which ordered Rush Rich to cease operations and pay over $ 375,000 ($ 262,000) in compensation.

“This positive result confirms TWE’s leadership in protecting its intellectual property rights from counterfeiting and counterfeiting operators,” Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. said in a statement.

“The company continues to actively invest in this area through a dedicated brand protection team ... and works closely with local authorities in Australia and China and partners to provide protection against unscrupulous operators,” the company said.