Background
The Pink Lady® trade mark is one of the great success stories of the fruit industry - now used under licence across four continents on a range of food products.
The Pink Lady® trade mark was originally established for use on apples of the Cripps Pink variety that met specified quality standards. This created a mechanism for growers world wide to sell premium quality apples from the variety Cripps Pink at a premium price.
The Cripps Pink apple variety was developed by plant breeder John Cripps at Manjimup in Western Australia as part of a breeding program administered by the Department of Agriculture Western Australia.
In countries where the trade mark is registered, apples sold under the Pink Lady® brand must meet rigorous and specific standards. The Pink Lady® trade mark can only be used under licence. Licence holders pay royalties, which cover management of the trade mark - including auditing of fruit quality, branding, brand promotion and protecting the trade mark against illegal use. In a number of overseas apple producing countries the Cripps Pink variety is protected under plant breeder's rights legislation.