RSS feeds28 July 2010 - 4:06pm - Laura Pearson
In Best Buy Co. Inc v Worldwide Sales Corporation España S.L. [2010] EWHC 1666 (Ch), the High Court of Justice (UK) had to consider whether a statement made in the course of negotiations constituted a “threat of legal proceedings” under section 21 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (UK) (“the Act”). read more »
19 July 2010 - 4:16pm - Laura Pearson
The Fitzroy Football Club and the Brisbane Lions have negotiated a settlement in relation to their dispute over the new logo unveiled by the Brisbane Lions in October 2009. read more »
9 July 2010 - 11:28am - Laura Pearson
The saga over the quintessential Australian song, “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” (“Kookaburra”), continued this week, with the Federal Court ordering that the publishers and songwriters of “Down Under” (the “respondents”) pay five percent of their royalties to Larrikin Music Publishing Pty Ltd (“Larrikin”). These royalties are to be backdated to May 2002 and will apply to future earnings generated from the song. read more »
8 July 2010 - 4:43pm - Laura Pearson
A recent .au Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“auDRP”) dispute involving GM Holden Ltd (“GM Holden”) highlights the relevance of a pattern of behaviour in determining whether domain names have been registered in good faith. In this case, the fact that the respondent had also registered domain names that included brands such as Toyota, Ford and Chrysler was used to support a finding that the domain names in question had not been registered in good faith. read more »
25 June 2010 - 11:57am - Laura Pearson
As a result of reports that patent applications for yoga positions have been lodged in the US, the Indian Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) has once again focused its attention on reviewing hundreds of ancient texts to provide evidence of India’s traditional knowledge in the field of yoga. Previous attempts at this task have provided unsatisfactory results. However, they are now trying again – by videoing the yoga positions that are set out in these texts. read more »
29 April 2010 - 5:21pm - Bing Wang
Steve Jobs has recently asserted Apple's claims to the word 'pad' over application developers in the iTunes Apps Store. What are the main challenges Apple would face if it sought to register the word 'pad' as a trademark in Australia? We consider the details here. read more »
31 March 2010 - 3:20pm - Damien MacRae
Last Friday, the Federal Court handed accommodation manager Mantra Group a landmark victory, ruling that an operator of websites used to source accommodation bookings had misused Mantra's trade marks. Mallesons partner John Swinson takes a close look at the decision and the implications for trade mark owners here. Mallesons represented Mantra in the litigation.
29 March 2010 - 10:55am - Bing Wang
The recent US decisions of Elsevier BV v UnitedHealth Group, Inc and Reed Elsevier, Inc v Muchnick has again underscored the importance of copyright registration in the United States, and the pitfalls for foreign copyright holders who fail to effect such registration. read more »
18 January 2010 - 10:40am - Bing Wang
Anyone selling products in the United States will need to take heed of a recent United States appellate court decision. read more »
4 December 2009 - 11:05am - Clare McMurtrie
On 1 December 2009, online retailer Topbuy was issued with a formal warning from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for breaching the Spam Act 2003. Following investigations into three commercial electronic messages sent by Topbuy to consumers without their consent, ACMA has concluded that these messages represent a broader systemic problem. read more »