We are pleased to see the Australian Broadcasting Company tackle the topic of counterfeiting in its Foreign Correspondent “Faking It” program available on ABC TV and iView. The television show highlights numerous issues faced by brand owners (including some POF clients) in order to deal with fake items in the UK but also worldwide. These …
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Saturday, 24 February 2024, marks a milestone for Australian trade mark registrations. Amendment to s.93(2) of the Trade Marks Act provided that applications for cancellation of a trade mark registration for non-use under s. 92(4)(b) may only be filed after three years from the date the particulars of the trade mark were “entered into the Register”. Prior to the …
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The owner of the popular ‘House’ stores, engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct when it took part of Bed Bath ‘N’ Table’s branding for its new homewares store, the Federal Court has found. In Bed Bath ‘N’ Table v Global Retail Brands Australia[1] , Justice Rofe found that GRBA’s decision to brand its soft homewares …
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In the decision Hanwha Solutions Corporation v REC Solar Pte Ltd [2023] FCA 1017, Justice Burley considered the application of the well-known test for lack of novelty from General Tire – will following the directions in the prior art inevitably result in something being made or done which would constitute an infringement of the patent …
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Acronyms and initialisms and are frequently used by businesses to make their names more memorable and to distinguish themselves from competitors. Recently, the global fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken opposed an application by Grill’d seeking registration of its HFC mark (see decision in KFC THC V Ltd v Grill’d IP Pty Ltd [2023] ATMO …
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McDonald’s trade mark registration for BIG MAC is not infringed by Hungry Jack’s use of the mark BIG JACK according to the Federal Court of Australia decision in McD Asia Pacific LLC v Hungry Jack’s Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 1412. Hungry Jack’s began promoting its BIG JACK burger in March 2020. An example of Hungry …
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc and CRISPR Therapeutics AG have gained a world-first regulatory approval for the use of a CRISPR-based gene editing therapy in patients, as the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted conditional marketing authorisation for CASGEVY.[1],[2] CASGEVY is a therapy designed to treat sickle-cell disease and inherited blood disorders, and works …
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In 1888, Karl Benz is issued with the world’s first driver’s licence and his wife, Bertha, drives a car bult by Karl on the first “long distance” car trip – Mannheim to Pforzheim (64km); Jack the Ripper stalks Whitechapel; John Dunlop patents the pneumatic bicycle tyre, whilst Joseph Assheton Fincher files a patent for “Tiddly-Winks”. …
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The decision in UbiPark v TMA Capital Australia[1] provides some useful commentary on the role of expert witness evidence in a patent infringement and revocation action. Moshinsky J, referenced various authorities at [55] to [63] on the principles of construction of a patent and the role the expert witness plays in that exercise. At [59] …
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Trade mark squatting, where a person registers a trade mark merely to sell for a profit at a later time, is a big issue in China and a headache for many brand owners. It doesn’t occur as frequently in Australia largely due to our first to use regime which differs from China’s first to file …
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