A trade mark is a way of branding and identifying a product or service, and distinguishing those products or services from competitors. Over time, the concept of what is considered to be a trade mark has expanded and can include a logo, word, colour, sound, smell, phrase, shape, picture, movement, number, [...]
A trade mark is considered to be a way for consumers to identify a particular good or service, typically known as a “brand”. Whilst most consumers are likely to readily identify a trade mark which is in the form of a logo, it is important to note that a trade mark [...]
One of the ways in which trade mark owners in Australia may apply for registration of their trade mark internationally is via a treaty known as the Madrid Protocol. A person who has registered or applied for a trade mark in a country party to the Madrid Protocol (such as Australia), [...]
As an intellectual property rights owner of, it is important that you are vigilant about protecting your intellectual property from infringement and maintaining the reputation and value of your brand and/or products. Counterfeit products which are imported in Australia can impact on and undermine the growth of a brand and its [...]
On 1 March 2017, a new provision was introduced into the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ (AANA) Code of Ethics (Code). The new provision stipulates that ‘Advertising or Marketing Communications must be clearly distinguishable as such to the relevant audience’. This is set to have a considerable effect on celebrities [...]
The owner of a registered trade mark has an exclusive right to use that trademark. But what happens when you use a trade mark without the permission of the trade mark owner? The Trade Marks Act provides protection to users of a trade mark in limited circumstances where their use [...]
Copyright owners will welcome the recent decision of the Federal Court in Tolkien Estate Limited v Saltalamacchia [2016] FCA 944, where the estate of famous author J. R. R. Tolkien was awarded a smorgasbord of remedies for infringement of its copyright. Copyright generally Copyright is a statutory right under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) (‘the [...]
The recent decision in Verrocchi v Direct Chemist Outlet Pty Ltd [2016] FCAFC 104 by the Full Bench of the Federal Court of Australia (‘the FCA’) has clarified the protection afforded to the reputation of goods and services in circumstances where misleading or deceptive conduct is claimed to have arisen. Background Chemist Warehouse is a [...]
Thredbo Village Thredbo is ski resort location in the Kosciusko National Park in NSW. Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Limited, in conjunction with its subsidiary Thredbo Resort Centre Pty Ltd (collectively referred to as KT) owns (by way of a 99 year lease granted over the land in 1957) and operates, the well-known Thredbo Village Ski Resort [...]
CI JI Family Pty Limited v National Australian Nappies (NAN) Pty Limited [2014] FCA 79 In a recent Federal Court decision, it was found that having a registered trade mark, did not protect the trade mark owner from other legal action, when using its own registered mark. In this case, the trade mark owner was [...]
