A number of provisions of the Trade Marks Act refer to the concept of “substantially affecting the identity” of a mark. These provisions relate to whether use of an amended mark counts as use of the mark as registered; whether a pending application is “substantially identical” to a prior mark; whether amendment can be made …
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JB Hi-Fi has won its battle to retain its Australian trade mark registration for STACK, its popular entertainment news brand, successfully challenging the Trade Mark Registrar’s proposed revocation. The trade mark STACK is used for JB Hi-Fi’s magazine and website, providing news and reviews for games, movies, tv and music[1]. The retailer acquired the unregistered …
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Brazil has become the latest member of the Madrid System. From 2 October this year, Australian trade mark owners will be able to seek protection in Brazil when filing an application for international registration using the Madrid System. The Madrid System enables trade mark owners to file a single international trade mark application to seek …
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The US Patent and Trademark Office has announced that, as of 3 August 2019, all foreign-domiciled trademark owners must be represented by an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the US. Currently it is possible for foreign-domiciled owners to file submissions at the USPTO directly on their own behalf, although if they do …
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In 2014, the Herald Sun broke the explosive story of an unnamed barrister moonlighting as a police informer. She was dubbed ‘Lawyer X’ and soon became Australia’s most infamous barrister. Shortly after her identity was recently revealed, it was announced that Foxtel and News Corp Australia had commissioned a drama mini-series titled ‘Lawyer X: The …
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We’re delighted to announce that POF is the winner for ‘Trade Mark Prosecution Firm of the Year – Australia’ as part of Managing Intellectual Property (MIP)’s IP Stars awards. This also marks the sixth year in a row that POF has ranked as a Tier 1 firm for Trade Mark Prosecution. MIP is the leading …
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Red Energy Pty Limited v Registrar of Trade Marks [2018] FCA 1449 A recent decision of Justice Beach in the Federal Court may have breathed new life into appeals from Trade Marks Office decisions during prosecution. Background Energy retailer Red Energy filed Australian Trade Mark Application No. 1746950 for the mark EVENPAY for various goods …
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Australian Federal Court not impressed with parallel AU/US proceedings Earlier this year, in a decision¹ made by O’Callaghan J of the Federal Court of Australia, Kraft was restrained from proceeding with arbitration proceedings against Bega in the US. The dispute arose in the context of the sale and promotion of BEGA branded peanut butter produced …
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The power of the Registrar to correct errors appearing in the Trade Marks Register appears to have been curtailed by the recent decision of the Full Court in Vokes v Laminar Air Flow[1]. Vokes was the original owner of a series of trade marks however, an incorrectly filed change of name form (in circumstances where …
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The Marvel franchise has enjoyed unprecedented box office success over the last decade, culminating in numerous films, TV series and other digital media. The most famous of these films focussing on The Avengers, Marvel Studios’ mascot super heroes. For a shared fictional universe as vast as the one Marvel Studios (Marvel) have presented, there have …
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