Apprentice Holzherr faces IP battle over Whisk business
THE Birmingham-based runner-up in this year’s series of The Apprentice, Nick Holzherr, has received a legal challenge to the status of the business he tried to sell to programme presenter and entrepreneur Lord Sugar.
James McIntosh, who describes himself as a “celebrity cook and best selling cookery author”, has accused Mr Holzherr of infringing copyright with the launch of his new online food delivery service, Whisk.
Mr McIntosh claims he established his own business more than nine years ago under the Whisk brand and states he has his own branded website, iPhone app, and a series of books all using the Whisk brand.
“Nick is developing an exciting and innovative business, despite the doubts of Lord Sugar and his team, and has some big names backing him. But he has entered a market where there is an established brand – one intrinsically linked to my business and me,” said Mr McIntosh.
He said that for the sake of clarity the situation needed to be resolved quickly.
“With the backing his business now has I am increasingly of the opinion that this is a David and Goliath battle as the little guy, who has put in the hard work for years, sees his intellectual property appropriated. Nick and his investors need to look closely at this as they build up to a launch as I am not prepared to give up on the brand I have so lovingly created and built up for so long,” he added.
Whisk, as developed by Mr Holzherr, is an online service that allows people to easily convert recipes into shopping lists that can then be bought through online stores with just one click.
Lord Sugar dismissed the idea, saying it was “simpler just to go to a restaurant.”
However, Mr Holzherr said he was out to prove the entrepreneur wrong.
Commenting on the claims made by Mr McIntosh, a spokesperson for Birmingham Science Park-based Whisk said: “As this is potentially a legal issue, it would be inappropriate to for us to comment on Mr McIntosh’s claims. However, we are committed to the development of Whisk and will begin beta testing very soon. We are excited about bringing this innovative and unique programme into the market.”
