What slant should the law take on ‘scandalous’ trade marks?
A recent ruling by the US Supreme Court regarding a potentially scandalous trade mark raises the issue of how such a case might be addressed…
OZEMITE: use it or lose it?
The Federal Court has ruled a trade mark owner can have used it even when not a single sale of a product bearing the mark…
In the world of Google Adwords, is your competitor’s trade mark fair game?
The use of a competitor’s name can be trade mark infringement or misleading and deceptive conduct, depending on the representation made in the sponsored link…
The latest from the High Court: December 2015
Reporting and analysis of the latest key judgments from the High Court of Australia. By THOMAS HURLEY.
Parallel importation: defending an allegation of trade mark infringement
Practitioners acting for parallel importers may face resistance from Australian trade mark owners and local distributors. By JULIAN ZMOOD.
Isolated nucleic acids now patentable in Australia
The Full Federal Court has unanimously confirmed that isolated nucleic acids, either DNA or RNA, are patentable in Australia. By ADAM DENLEY, TOM GUMLEY, CHELSEA…
Patent trolls: what you need to know
In 2013, 2 million patents were filed worldwide. US tech companies defending against patent trolls spent $29 billion in litigation costs for 5842 lawsuits in…
Telstra’s yellow monopoly aspirations given a red light by the Federal Court
On 11 April 2014, Justice Murphy delivered his judgment granting two appeals filed against decisions of Delegates of the Registrar of Trade Marks which had…
Theft or inspiration? Clear findings on copyright infringement
If the starting point for a designer is another designer’s work, it is a large hurdle for the defendant to prove there has not been…