advertising
Bad intentions: Can you copy elements of a competitor’s design?
27 April 2026
The recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia in Bodum AG v H.A.G Import Corpn (Australia) Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 238 illustrates that even deliberate copying of a competitor’s design elements does not necessarily breach the Australian Consumer Law or amount to passing off.
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Ocean Bound or Ocean Found? Clorox’s Greenwashing Costs $8.25 Million
28 April 2025
Rebecca Maher, Paula McGrath (nee Mucha) and Peta Stevenson discuss the recent penalty awarded against Clorox Australia.
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Burger case bounces In-N-Out of court in meaty appeal
9 February 2021
Since our breakdown in March 2020 of Justice Katzmann’s ruling in the Federal Court in favour of American burger chain In-N-Out in its bitter trademark dispute with local Australian company Hashtag Burgers Pty Ltd of DOWN-N-OUT (now Plan B) notoriety, another round of this sizzling hot battle of the burgers has been fought before the Full Court.
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Ouch! Federal Court of Australia imposes $4.5 million-dollar penalty for misleading marketing of pain-relief products
3 June 2020
The Federal Court has handed down a significant $4.5 million penalty over misleading claims made with respect to the over-the-counter muscular pain relief products, ‘Voltaren Osteo Gel’ and ‘Voltaren Emulgel’.
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Summer BOD competition: social media queens engage in trade mark litigation
12 January 2018
Social media queens Sophie Guidolin and Rachael Finch both run fitness businesses through Instagram, promoting the #healthy lifestyle.
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STG v Trojan: protecting trade mark rights in the context of parallel importation
4 August 2016
In the recent decision in Scandinavian Tobacco Group Eersel BV v Trojan Trading Company Pty Ltd [2016] FCAFC 91 (STG v Trojan), the Full Federal Court held that the defence to trade mark infringement under section 123 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) (Act), based on the trade mark owner’s consent to application of the trade mark, will apply to the removal and reapplication of a manufacturer’s trade mark by a parallel importer.
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Can I use a competitor’s name or trade marks for Google AdWords?
14 April 2016
This question is often asked by companies considering ways to funnel internet traffic to their own website by diverting internet users seeking to access a competitor’s website.
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Social media “influencers”: the do’s and don’ts of disclosure
22 March 2016
It’s now a widely acknowledged reality that commercial organisations need defined social media strategies and policies in place as a framework for approaching the world of ’gramming, liking, sharing, connecting (and, a recent addition to the Facebook stable, “reacting”) online.
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Same same but different? Federal Court finds Reckitt Benckiser’s/Nurofen’s marketing of the ‘specific pain relief’ range constitutes misleading and deceptive conduct
22 December 2015
Last week Justice Edelman delivered judgment in the Federal Court, finding that Reckitt Benckiser (Australia)’s packaging and website descriptions of the Nurofen ‘Specific Pain Range’ constituted misleading or deceptive conduct under section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (‘ACL’).
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