Category:
Branding, Trade Marks, Designs & Patents

01/09/15

Architects are artists too!

The recent case Coles v Former and Ors [2015] is an interesting case that would be particularly appreciated by architects and designers. The claimant purchased a home from the original owners who had together with an architect come up with ideas and design plans for the house. The original architect invested considerable creative effort into the...

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Faking it with Fake Profiles

Citymove Pty Ltd is a popular city and interstate removalist company with a few bad habits. This is now the second time they have been caught out for publishing false consumer testimonials, and this time the penalty was a lot higher. The ACCC issued three infringement notices to Citymove for allegedly fabricating consumer identities to...

Your domain name no more

The recent decision in Thomas International Limited v Humantech Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 541, highlights when the Court will grant an interlocutory injunction to compel the transfer of domain names. Thomas International was an Internet business that provided psychological testing services. In 2007 they entered into a Master Licence Agreement with Humantech under which Humantech was...

Making your mark

Trade marks can offer powerful protection for brands. But in order to be capable of trade mark registration, trade marks need to be sufficiently distinctive. This was the key question in two major trade mark judgments in 2014 and these decisions highlight the challenges in determining if a proposed trade mark is more than purely,...

Making a monkey out of copyright law

A ‘selfie’ snapped by a mischievous macaque who stole a photographer’s camera has demonstrated once again that there is no monkeying around when it comes to copyright law. Wildlife photographer David Slater was understandably miffed when Wikipedia denied his request to take down the photograph – which has since gone viral – on the grounds...

Trademarking the Rainbow

From Cadbury’s purple to Tiffany & Co’s robin egg blue, distinctive colours have become synonymous with the brands they represent. Branding – in particular colour – is a powerful form of consumer recognition and brand distinction. Thus, the legal protection of colours has on a number of occasions become a hot-headed issue as companies aggressively...

A Whopper of a Trade Mark Dispute

A meaty dispute recently arose between a small hamburger shop and fast food giant Hungry Jacks. The take-away shop, in Wamberal on the Central Coast of NSW, has been serving the ‘Wambie Whopper’ for 20 years. It was reported that Hungry Jacks wrote to the owners, requesting that they stop using ‘whopper’ in their shop...

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