Category:Consumer & Retail

1
Karen Walker Has a Runaway Win Before the Trade Marks Office
2
New Aim Misses the Mark: Federal Court Clarifies What Constitutes Confidential Information
3
EU Designs: Genuine Design Activity and Intellectual Effort are not Required for Protection
4
Perfume, Proof, and Parallel Imports: How Coty’s Traceability System Won a Trade Mark War
5
Make Protecting Your UK and EU Product Packaging and Labels Your New Year’s IP Resolution. Part 2: Combatting Dupes and Copycats in the United Kingdom
6
When Life Gives You Lemons….Thatchers Successful as Court of Appeal Finds Aldi Copycat Products Amount to Trade Mark Infringement in the United Kingdom
7
Make Protecting Your UK and EU Product Packaging and Labels Your New Year’s IP Resolution. Part 1: Protect Unique Packaging in the EU
8
SkyKick v Sky: A Debrief of the Latest Developments
9
US$18.3 million Wearable Blanket Infringement Award Stands Despite Newly Announced Design Patent Standard
10
No Point Crying Over Spilled “Not Milk” – Distinctiveness Issues For Trade Marks In The Plant-Based Food Industry

Karen Walker Has a Runaway Win Before the Trade Marks Office

In a recent decision of the Australian Trade Marks Office, Karen Walker Limited successfully opposed the registration of the mark ‘Runaway the Label‘ for clothing, footwear and headgear (class 25) and online retail services (class 35). We focus here on Delegate’s findings on deceptive similarity under s 44 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).

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New Aim Misses the Mark: Federal Court Clarifies What Constitutes Confidential Information

The recent decision of New Aim Pty Ltd v Leung (No 4) is a timely reminder of how confidential information needs to be treated and restricted by businesses to allow it to be protected under law.

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EU Designs: Genuine Design Activity and Intellectual Effort are not Required for Protection

Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou has delivered his opinion in the case Deity Shoes, S.L. v Mundorama Confort, S.L. and another (Case C 323/24). The case considers whether a footwear design made by Deity Shoes, S.L. (Deity Shoes) qualified for protection as a design in the European Union and raised important questions about the relevance of the status of the designer’s effort and skill and surrounding factors in the assessment of design.

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Make Protecting Your UK and EU Product Packaging and Labels Your New Year’s IP Resolution. Part 2: Combatting Dupes and Copycats in the United Kingdom

By: Arthur Artinian, Simon Casinader, and Georgina Rigg

Everybody knows that trade marks are necessary to protect a brand’s logo and name, and a lot of people know that registered designs are a powerful tool in stopping counterfeit goods, but did you know these rights can also be used to help protect against unwanted “dupes” (also known as “copycat” or “lookalike” products)? Dupes and copycats deliberately mimic a successful product, and they imitate the look and feel to unfairly benefit from the goodwill attached to the product through the “halo effect,” i.e., the impression that if it looks like the original, it must be as good.

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When Life Gives You Lemons….Thatchers Successful as Court of Appeal Finds Aldi Copycat Products Amount to Trade Mark Infringement in the United Kingdom

On 20 January 2025, the English Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in a highly anticipated appeal by Thatchers Cider Company, concluding that Aldi had infringed Thatchers’ registered trade mark under section 10(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, by taking unfair advantage of Thatchers’ packaging trade mark (see comparison below).

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Make Protecting Your UK and EU Product Packaging and Labels Your New Year’s IP Resolution. Part 1: Protect Unique Packaging in the EU

New developments in Europe make a filing strategy for registered designs and trade marks even more essential for the modern consumer business. Read on to find out more.

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SkyKick v Sky: A Debrief of the Latest Developments

The UK Supreme Court recently handed down its judgment in the long-running SkyKick v Sky trade mark battle. The court considered the key issue of ‘bad faith’ applied to the over-claiming practice and its implications for trade mark infringement matters.

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US$18.3 million Wearable Blanket Infringement Award Stands Despite Newly Announced Design Patent Standard

An Arizona federal judge denied Top Brand LLC’s motion for a new trial following an US$18.3 million jury award to Cozy Comfort Co. for infringement of two Cozy Comfort design patents and the “Comfy” trademarks used in connection with “The Comfy” hooded wearable blanket, which was featured on the television program “Shark Tank”.

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No Point Crying Over Spilled “Not Milk” – Distinctiveness Issues For Trade Marks In The Plant-Based Food Industry

The plant-based food industry is growing at a rapid pace, with popularity amongst consumers increasing because of its purported health and environmental benefits. However, a recent General Court decision in the EU highlights the difficulties brands face in obtaining trade mark protection for plant-based food if brands are not sufficiently distinctive (despite a tendency in the industry to develop brands which are a play on words of traditional food products).

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