Knowledge

31/08/16

Things are about to get UGG-ly: Australian Manufacturer Takes on US Giant in Bid to Invalidate 1985 Trade Mark Registration

While many would consider “Ugg” to be a generic Australian name for a certain form of footwear, it was in fact registered as a trade mark in the US back in 1985 by Australian entrepreneur Brian Smith. The mark was subsequently sold to US footwear company Deckers, who have aggressively enforced the exclusive trade mark...

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Qantas Grounded: Federal Court Rejects Airline’s Action to Oppose Kangaroo T-shirt Logo

A recent Federal Court decision has given some clarity to how two key grounds of opposition to trade mark registration – the “prior mark” and “prior reputation” grounds – will be interpreted. Back in 2010, Qantas opposed the registration by Edwards, an online apparel and electronics retailer. Edwards had filed a trade mark application for...

Dick Smith’s “Ozemite” trade mark win redefined what it means to “use” a trade mark!

On 12 August 2016, the Federal Court handed down its decision in the long running battle between Dick Smith and Roger Ramsey over the registration as trade marks of the homophones (or sound-alikes)- OZEMITE and AUSSE MITE. Dick Smith, renowned Australian businessman and philanthropist, applied to register “OZEMITE” as a trade mark on 28 October...

3nder rebranded as “Feeld” as Tinder lawsuit continues

Everyone’s favourite dating app saga continues. Back in May we informed you the owners of dating app Tinder, Match Group, launched a trade mark infringement action in the UK against new competitor 3nder. Whilst tinder focuses on individuals finding another individual, 3nder widens its scope to focus on individuals and couples seeking threesomes. Tinder are...

Telstra’s ‘Go To Rio’ campaign cleared by the Federal Court

With the 2016 Rio Olympic Games underway, many have been caught up in the hype and excitement of the world’s biggest sporting event. However, Telstra’s Olympic fever landed them in Federal Court with the Australian Olympic Committee (‘AOC’), which alleged Telstra had engaged in ambush marketing in its recent ‘Go To Rio’ campaign and associated...

Getty in trouble!

Getty Images, a US stock photo agency, which acquires and supplies images, illustrations and stock film footage to various businesses and consumers, has again found itself the subject of another lawsuit for alleged copyright infringement. Last week, on 25 July 2016, photographer Carol M. Highsmith filed a claim in the US District Court of the...

No Olympics ambush by Telstra

On Friday 29 July 2016, the Federal Court handed down its decision in the Australian Olympic Committee’s (‘AOC’) case against Telstra in light of Telstra’s unauthorised and misleading Olympic themed “Go to Rio” advertisements. AOC relied on section 36 of the Olympic Insignia Protection Act 1987 (‘OIPA’), alleging that Telstra had infringed this section which...

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