The bakery aisle is a treat for the senses with consumers eager to sample breads, filled rolls and artisanal baked goods.
Yet, behind enticing aromas and attractive packaging lies a complex legal landscape that supermarket retailers and suppliers must tread carefully. Intellectual property protections like trade marks and copyrights are important tools for safeguarding brand identity, preventing costly disputes down the road.
Recent IP case studies
One of the most telling recent examples involved a trade mark infringement dispute between Brisbane-based Blackstar Coffee Roasters and Sydney’s Black Star Pastry. Blackstar Coffee successfully asserted its rights against the use of the “Black Star” name by the pastry shop, illustrating a crucial principle: overlaps in brand names even in connected product categories like coffee and baked goods can trigger expensive and reputation-damaging litigation.
For supermarket buyers and bakery suppliers, this case is a reminder to conduct thorough trade mark searches and register distinctive brand elements early to avoid conflicts that can disrupt supply chains and shelf presence.
Copyright issues are also rising in the bakery sector, especially concerning recipe protection. The recent Maehashi controversy spotlighted the challenges in legally protecting recipes themselves.
In April 2025, Australian food blogger Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats publicly accused Brooke Bellamy, author of the cookbook "Bake with Brooki," of plagiarising her caramel slice and baklava recipes, claiming near-identical wording and structure beyond common ingredients.
Bellamy denied the allegations, stating she developed her recipes independently over several years and provided dated evidence of prior use.
While copyright law in Australia protects the expression of a recipe's writing, it does not protect the underlying idea or ingredients. The success of the infringement claim hinges on whether Bellamy copied Maehashi’s original expression substantially. Because recipes inherently share common functional elements, proving infringement is challenging.
Read more from Aparna Watal, Partner at Halfords IP in the latest issue here
