Ocado accused by businessman of trying to 'bully' him over name of his company
A businessman has said he refuses to be "bullied" by online food giant Ocado amid a copyright dispute over his own company's name.
Dr Robert James Kalibala launched his import business called 'Orgacado', claiming the name derives from a combination of words 'organic' and 'avocado'.
The Ugandan-born businessman also said the name in his native country also means 'big avocado' and now says he will refuse to be "bullied" by a bigger business like Ocado
Dr Kalibala said he registered the business with Companies House and agricultural bodies like the Soil Association before receiving letters from Ocado calling for a name change to his business around two years ago.
After not initially being aware he needed a trademark for his company name and logo, Dr Kalibala said he went to the Intellectual Property office website to register the name and found it was available for use.
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Dr Kalibala import business is called 'Orgacado' (Facebook)Speaking to The Voice, he said: "They (Ocado) just wrote to me before and said ‘stop using our name, that is our name’ then I went on to check if the name belonged to them, when I went onto the Intellectual Property website to register the name, the name was still available.'
"I went to see if the exact trademark for Orgacado was still there or if it was under Ocado. But good enough, the name Orgacado was still there and was still available, so no one had that name."
Dr Kalibala claims Ocado also told him his logo - an avocado used as part of the first letter in the company name - its colours and the design of his delivery van was also too similar.
Dr Kalibala employs farm workers in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and other African countries (Facebook)The entrepreneur, studied Biochemistry at the University of Exeter and has a PhD in Medical Sciences, has recently celebrated five years of his business.
Importing passion fruits, mangoes, papaya, small bananas and Soursop and other fruits and vegetables under his import licence, Dr Kalibala started the company after discovering there was a market for more “seedless” and genetically modified organisms (GMO) grown in Africa.
He said: “It started with corn, then it went onto tomatoes, grapes and now they are moving on to mangoes and avocados.”
But Dr Kalibala said he refuses to be "bullied", adding: "Because they are a big company they are trying to scare me, they are using big law firms, just to intimate me to leave our name, but Orgacado and Ocado are completely different.”
Ocado said in a statement: "There is no legal action underway and the issue of Orgacado registering its trademark is being addressed and considered by the Intellectual Property Office.
"We will always defend our brand and do everything we can to make sure our customers are not confused or misled."
Ocado also confirmed they have offered to meet the cost of any rebrand of Dr Kalibala’s business.
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