Rachel ‘Champagne Jayne’ Powell’s passion for Champagne has helped her to become an award-winning wine expert, broadcaster, journalist and presenter. However, Ms. Powell’s ‘Champagne Jayne’ brand has put her at loggerheads with the trade organisation established to manage the common interests of the growers and the Champagne Houses behind the drink she loves so much. Read More
Oyster Bay’s Wine Bottle Trade Mark Application Rejected
In 2012, New Zealand winery Oyster Bay filed a trade mark application as follows:
Acting on a complaint that fake sports shoes were sold in Mong Kok, a popular shopping district for trendy teens and tourists, Hong Kong Customs went into action and raided retail shops and warehouses.
Customs Officers seized suspected fakes, including 1,905 pairs of sports shoes, to a tune of HKD1.67 million. The suspected head of the fake goods syndicate along with six other people were arrested.
The arrests included a 16 year old and Customs has appealed to young people to be on guard against dodgy dealings when working in summer jobs. Read More
The drama craze and football fever had increased the popularity of set-top boxes, sold at the cost of a few hundred Hong Kong dollars and easy to use. Users can simply connect the box to a TV to enjoy television dramas, sports and even real-time broadcasts from different countries.
Problems arise when set-top boxes are jail broken by sellers, permitting access to unauthorized content. Users and sellers should beware of the potential copyright issues arising from such use. Read More
Dynamic Supplies Pty Limited v Tonnex International Pty Limited (No.3) [2014] FCA 909
In the liability hearing of this matter (Dynamic Supplies Pty Limited v Tonnex International Pty Limited (2001) 91 IPR 488) Justice Yates found that:
Unilever Australia Ltd v Revlon Australia Pty Ltd (no.2) [2014] FCA 875
This case is the latest skirmish between two personal product giants, Unilever and Revlon, before war breaks out on 15 September 2014 when the trial begins.
The case concerns ‘clinical’ anti-perspirant deodorant products; Revlon’s product sold under the brand name Mitchum Clinical and Unilever’s products sold under the brand names ‘Rexona’ and ‘Dove’.
The first interlocutory injunction hearing was brought by Unilever against Revlon in May 2014 concerned misleading representations alleged to have been made by Revlon in advertising. On balance, the Court refused to grant the injunction as it would have a serious adverse impact on the worldwide marketing campaign for Revlon and the trial could be held in July 2014. The July trial was eventually adjourned to 15 September 2014. Read More
Google AdWords Policy Change for Australia
As reported in April 2013, Google amended its AdWords policy in Australia allowing a company to purchase a competitor’s trade mark as a keyword in order to trigger sponsored ads during Google searches.
Google has now gone one step further and allowed resellers and informational sites from 27 July 2014 to use trade marks in ad text in Australia and New Zealand under certain circumstances. Read More
Your IP Law Report in 17 Syllables
“Judgments are just getting longer and more complicated, I can’t keep up with all of them!”
A familiar refrain uttered by many a lawyer and law student alike, especially in the modern, digital age (although we expect the Courts might refer to the increasing volume of electronic evidence filed by parties in proceedings as a contributing factor!)
So, in that context, could the essence of a judgment be distilled into haiku (short form Japanese poetry consisting of three phrases of five, seven and five syllables)? Well, we are sure going to try! Read More
BP’s Application for Registration of the Colour Green as a Trade Mark Rejected by IP Australia
IP Australia has again made it clear that the assessment of a colour trade mark under section 41 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) should be no different from the assessment of any other trade mark.
However in rejecting BP’s application for registration of the colour green, the Office noted that while most objects have to be some colour, the act of applying a colour to a product will not act as an identifier for that product. Read More
Additional Damages Awarded for Trade Mark Infringement
Trade mark owners can take encouragement from the Federal Court of Australia’s readiness to award additional damages as a deterrent from further infringement. The Court made its first award of additional damages for trade mark infringement in a case about kebabs, where a claim for actual loss from an infringement could not be made. Additional damages are a useful weapon in a brand owner’s arsenal. Read More
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