Did you know that trade mark applications can be opposed on the ground that the application was made in “bad faith”? This is a vague sort of concept, with the test being that the decision to apply for the mark “would be regarded as in bad faith by persons adopting proper standards” – but you …
>> Read more
The Trade Marks Office recently handed down a decision to register a trade mark for the name of the inventor of the sandwich. What follows is a tale of 18th century aristocrats, US chain restaurants and an independent, Aussie café… Flashback: the year is 1792 and nobleman Lord John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, is …
>> Read more
Overseas trade mark owners seeking to challenge an Australian trade mark application similar to their own will often need to rely on a claim to being the true owner of the mark in Australia. A number of recent decisions applying a more liberal interpretation of the requirement of ‘substantially identical’ under section 58 of the …
>> Read more
In Bohemia Crystal Pty Ltd v Host Corporation Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 235, Host Corp successfully revoked BCP’s trade mark registrations for BOHEMIA and BOHEMIA CRYSTAL on the basis that neither mark was to any extent adapted to distinguish goods including glassware, nor had they become factually distinctive by reason of their use. On the …
>> Read more
Amazon has been named the world’s most valuable brand in Brand Finance’s Global 500 2018 Report. It tipped out Apple and Google for the prize. Locally, Telstra, the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ rounded out the Australian top three. On a regional basis, Mercedes-Benz ranks as Europe’s most valuable brand, Amazon as North America’s, the petroleum …
>> Read more
Background Moroccanoil Israel Ltd (MIL) successfully obtained injunctions restricting the sale of some of the supermarket chain Aldi’s lookalike products in the recent case of Moroccanoil Israel Ltd v Aldi Foods Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 823. Aldi’s conduct was found to be misleading and deceptive in relation to claims regarding the performance benefits of the …
>> Read more
In many jurisdictions, damages as a remedy for infringement are not available or are reduced where the infringer proves they were an ‘innocent infringer’. An ‘innocent infringer’ is not aware of the existence of a registered IP right at the time of the infringement and had no reasonable grounds for supposing that the subject matter …
>> Read more
Today the Australian Government released its response to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Australia’s IP system. Both the Productivity Commission and the former Advisory Council on Intellectual Property had recommended that the innovation patent system be abolished, a recommendation that the Australian government has supported. An innovation patent requires a lower level of innovation than …
>> Read more
The Australian Government has released its response to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Australia’s IP system. The report may be found here. The Government has made a number of recommendations across Australia’s intellectual property system. While the implementation of the recommendations will be some time away, some dramatic changes are proposed. Perhaps the most significant …
>> Read more
In the case of Pham Global Pty Ltd v Insight Clinical Imaging Pty Ltd [2017] FCAFC 83, Mr Pham filed a trade mark application for the trade mark on the right below (IR Trade Mark). This application was opposed by the owner of the trade mark on the left, Insight Clinical Imaging (Clinical Imaging): …
>> Read more
