Topic: Advertising

No use crying over spilt (plant-based-dairy-free-alternatives-to) milk?

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on September 24, 2018 Posted in Advertising

Every trendy café these days seems to have a selection of dairy-free milk alternatives as long as a wine list, from the usual suspects like soy, coconut and almond, to more unusual new favourites like rice, hemp, pea, flax and oat. With vegan, dairy-free or plant-based diets becoming more and more popular for health, environmental, … Continue reading

Mirror, mirror on the wall, what’s my taxable Insta value after all?

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on June 18, 2018 Posted in Advertising, Trademark

In sad news for celebrities and Instagram influencers across Australia, the introduction of the so-called ‘fame tax’ as part of a raft of integrity measures announced in the 2018/19 budget means that they could end up paying higher taxes on the income and non-cash benefits earned through the commercial exploitation of their image rights. In … Continue reading

New York’s Right of Publicity – Take Two

By Susan Ross (US) on April 19, 2018 Posted in Advertising

We had previously written about a September 1, 2016 ruling from a New York State appeals court relating to New York’s right of publicity and claims brought by celebrities Lindsay Lohan and Karen Gravano against the creator and distributor of the video game “Grand Theft Auto V.” On March 29, 2018, New York’s highest court … Continue reading

Cybersquatters – How to protect your brand from unwanted ‘guests’ online

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on March 9, 2018 Posted in Advertising, Trademark

The internet is now the normal conduit for everyday personal, commercial and social transactions. It is more important than ever to ensure that your consumers know where to find your business online, and that no third parties are seeking to trade off your reputation in the online space. Domain names are the primary form of … Continue reading

What Brexit means for IP: The UK Law Society, the IP Bar, CIPA and CITMA weigh in on Brexit strategy

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on January 21, 2018 Posted in Advertising, General, Trademark

It’s no surprise that many in the professional and legal services industries are putting increasing thought into what the post-Brexit world will, or should, look like. The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) in the UK has been the latest body to put its two cents (or pennies) into the mix. Brand owners from all … Continue reading

New country of origin food labelling requirements for Australia – is your packaging up to scratch?

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on November 28, 2017 Posted in Advertising

Businesses have until 1 July 2018 to transition to a new system of country of origin labelling for food products in Australia. The incoming Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016 (Standard) imposes stricter labelling requirements on “priority”, as opposed to “non-priority”, foods and is intended to help consumers better understand where their food … Continue reading

Managing your products when a patent expires – how good brand management can maintain product and brand awareness, and build market share

By Georgina Hey (AU) on November 21, 2017 Posted in Advertising

The Australian Government’s recently expressed interest in cracking down on misuses of market power may have left some patent holders with concerns about the proposed amendments to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act). All the fuss relates to section 46 of the Act: the provision which prohibits a company with a substantial degree … Continue reading

Telstra hits a home run in defending its “Go to Rio” Olympiads

By Frances Drummond (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on October 30, 2017 Posted in Advertising

Last year, we reported on a decision of the Federal Court of Australia, in which the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) unsuccessfully sought injunctive relief to prevent Telstra from running its “Go to Rio” advertising campaign in the lead-up to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio.[1] In an attempt to preserve the value of its … Continue reading

Rebranding 4.0: Why authenticity matters to socially-aware consumers, and how to convey it

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on October 17, 2017 Posted in Advertising, Trademark

Increasingly affordable renewables, coupled with consumers’ sensitivity to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, are driving a profound shift in energy markets worldwide. Nowhere is this more apparent than in brand equity, and the trust levels displayed by the public towards traditional energy businesses versus green, dynamic start-ups. Rebranding is a powerful tool to close … Continue reading

Australia – No extensions for Swiss style Pharma Patents

By Helen Macpherson (AU) and Rohan Sridhar (AU) on August 31, 2017 Posted in Advertising, General

A Full Court of the Federal Court has confirmed that patents containing “Swiss-style” claims are outside the scope of the Australian patent term extension regime in its recent judgment of Commissioner of Patents v AbbVie Biotechnology Ltd [2017] FCAFC 129. What it means: Patents which claim methods or processes involving pharmaceutical substances cannot be extended … Continue reading

Court decision highlights difficulty in challenging innovation patents

By Helen Macpherson (AU) on August 21, 2017 Posted in Advertising

Late last month, Justice Burley handed down his decision in Doric Products Pty Ltd v Asia Pacific Trading (Aust) Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 849. The decision provides a useful illustration of how Australian Courts will approach construction, infringement and validity issues in innovation patent proceedings, and emphasises the difficulties respondents face when challenging the validity … Continue reading

Australian Modern Slavery Act: Why big brands will have nowhere to hide

By Sophie Lees (AU) on August 20, 2017 Posted in Advertising

The Australian Government has just confirmed that new legislation will be introduced requiring large Australian businesses to report annually on their efforts to address modern slavery. The result will be a framework similar to the corporate-focussed legislation enacted in the UK in 2015 and similar initiatives that are under discussion in other jurisdictions including the … Continue reading

Rebranding in the energy market – The issues to consider

By Georgina Hey (AU) and Sophie Lees (AU) on August 1, 2017 Posted in Advertising

A number of energy giants have recently undergone corporate rebranding exercises. The motivations of these powerhouses often vary, from unifying a group after a series of mergers and acquisitions, to repairing reputational damage, to just aligning with a new corporate vision. Tesla dropped “Motors” from its branding in 2016 to promote its clean energy solutions … Continue reading

Digging through the mud to see the damage sustained

By Helen Macpherson (AU) and Melanie Armsby (AU) on July 12, 2017 Posted in Advertising

The Full Federal Court in Australia has made it clear that, in an action for unjustified threats, a party is entitled only to damage sustained as a result of the unjustified threats under section 128 of the Patents Act 1990 (the Act), and not damage sustained as a result of infringement proceedings subsequently commenced (Australian … Continue reading

Marketing class actions – A new frontier

By Toby Biddle (AU) and Helen Macpherson (AU) on June 1, 2017 Posted in Advertising

Australia has a long history of class action litigation. Outside of the United States, Australia has one of the most active class action markets globally. It is 25 years since the introduction of the class action regime in the Federal Court of Australia. Since its introduction, the class action regime has been used as a … Continue reading

Web Advertising – Complying with FTC’s “Clear & Conspicuous” Rule

By Mayura Noordyke (US) on April 13, 2017 Posted in Advertising

Increasingly, companies are turning to the internet and social media platforms to advertise their products, often by using native advertising or by providing incentives such as payments or free products to social media “influencers” (Instagrammers, Pinners, Bloggers and Vloggers, to name a few) in exchange for an endorsement. As we have previously discussed, the FTC … Continue reading

11th Cir. holds “skim milk” label protected by 1st Amendment

By Andre Hanson (US) and Saul Perloff (US) on April 10, 2017 Posted in Advertising

In a case with potentially significant ramifications for regulatory oversight of the labeling and advertising of foods and pharmaceuticals, the Eleventh Circuit held the First Amendment precluded the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dairy Industry (the “Florida Bureau”) from prohibiting a dairy company’s use of the phrase “skim milk” to describe its “all-natural” milk … Continue reading

What’s in a name? How to protect yourself if your name is your personal brand

By Alyson Poole (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on March 22, 2017 Posted in Advertising, Trademark

Cher, Prince, Oprah, Bono – all of these celebrities have one thing in common – the capacity to be recognised by nothing more than a single name. For businesses which are built on the success of a personal brand, a name can be a crucial component of being recognised by consumers. But the question remains: should … Continue reading

Productivity Commission’s Report on Australia’s IP system

By Georgina Hey (AU) on March 7, 2017 Posted in Advertising, Trademark

The Inquiry Report into Intellectual Property Arrangements recently published by the Productivity Commission (Report) argues that Australia’s IP system is weighted too heavily in favour of rights holders and against the interests of the broader community. It has made various recommendations to correct this perceived imbalance. This article considers some of the recommended changes which, … Continue reading

Update: 2d Circuit denies split in Church & Dwight and Apotex rulings

By Andre Hanson (US) on December 19, 2016 Posted in Advertising

On December 2, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied rehearing by the Panel and rehearing en banc. On December 5, 2016, the Court withdrew its previous opinion, which was to have been published with the reporter cite 836 F.3d 153, and directed that it will be republished as an … Continue reading

Commissioner settles “Made in Canada” misleading advertising dispute

By Kevin Ackhurst (CA) on December 12, 2016 Posted in Advertising

Canadian sportswear maker Moose International Inc. announced on December 6, 2016, that it had resolved its dispute with Canada’s Commissioner of Competition (Commissioner) over the accuracy of its claims that certain of its high-end parkas were made in Canada. The Commissioner had filed an application with the Canadian Competition Tribunal in April 2016 alleging the … Continue reading

Denial of CDA immunity defense not immediately appealable

By Andre Hanson (US) on December 7, 2016 Posted in Advertising

On November 1, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provides immunity from liability, not from suit, precluding interlocutory appellate jurisdiction under the collateral order doctrine. General Steel Domestic Sales, L.L.C. v. Chumley, et al., Case No. 15-1293, __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 6441028. The … Continue reading