Tag archives: Australia Trademarks

Australian Trademarks Law Review – Edition 2

Frances Drummond (AU)Sophie Lees (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Frances Drummond (AU), Sophie Lees (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Trademark
2018 marked the publication of the first Australian Trademarks Law Review from the Law Review series. The Law Review collates cross-border legal insights and analysis across a range of practice areas and is a useful resource for in-house counsel of global organizations. Following the publishing of the first edition of the Australian chapter of 2018 … Continue reading

Amended Australian IP laws receive Royal Assent with little fanfare

Georgina Hey (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Copyright, General, Trademark
On 24 August 2018, the creatively named Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 1 and Other Measures) Bill 2018 quietly received Royal Assent, with some parts of the new Act entering into force the following day. As the name indicates, the primary focus of the new legislation is to implement the recommendations made … Continue reading

V Energy loses a mother of a battle over color trademark: Australia court’s decision in Frucor v Coca-Cola

Helen Macpherson (AU)Alyson Poole (AU)By Helen Macpherson (AU) and Alyson Poole (AU) on Posted in Trademark
We, as consumers, regularly associate colours with our favourite brands as we stroll down supermarket aisles and peer at billboards and banners in shopping centres.  But for brand holders, gaining protection for proprietary colours is not a walk in the (green) park.  The recent decision of Frucor Beverages Limited v The Coca-Cola Company [2018] FCA … Continue reading

Changes proposed regarding parallel imports – An exhausting concept for Australian trade mark owners?

Frances Drummond (AU)Rebecca Brenikov (AU)By Frances Drummond (AU) and Rebecca Brenikov (AU) on Posted in Trademark
In this article, we consider; the changes to the Trade Marks Act proposed in respect of parallel imports which the Draft Explanatory Memorandum states are aimed at ensuring that the law “better meet[s] the objective of facilitating the parallel importation of goods into Australia to the benefit of consumers by limiting the strategic use of … Continue reading

Promoting an innovation economy – Australian Government responds to Productivity Commission’s report into IP arrangements

Georgina Hey (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on Posted in Copyright, Trademark
We recently published an article on the potential impact on the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry Report on Intellectual Property Arrangements (Report) on Australia’s innovation economy. The Australian Government has now responded to the Report, supporting the Commission’s recommendations to reform the patent system, but stopping short of embracing the extensive copyright overhaul recommended in the Report, … Continue reading

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

Alyson Poole (AU)Isobel Taylor (AU)By Alyson Poole (AU) and Isobel Taylor (AU) on 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

Georgina Hey (AU)By Georgina Hey (AU) on 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
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