Sour Apple after Federal Court of Australia denies 'App Store' trade mark

Alex Hutchens, Malcolm McBratney, Alexia Marinos

The Federal Court of Australia has upheld the Australian Trade Marks Office’s decision (TMO) to refuse to register Apple’s trade mark application for ‘APP STORE’.

Disney issues warning over counterfeit bracelets

Alex Hutchens, Malcolm McBratney, Stephanie Parkin

A number of recent cases indicate that Disney is dealing with a new type of Lyin’ King in the form of counterfeiters.

A cat fight is brewing: unauthorised imitation of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles in China

Alex Hutchens, John Kettle, Malcolm McBratney, Paul McLachlan, Alexia Marinos

Jaguar, the well known British multinational car manufacturer may commence an action against Chinese car manufacturers, Chang’an Automobile Group and Jiangling Motors Corporation (Chang’an and Jiangling) for producing a land rover vehicle known as LandWind that is an imitation of the Jaguar Range Rover Evoque.

At last, the new Franchising Code is here

Franchisors must act fast to comply by January 1

Malcolm McBratney, Dylan Kerrigan, Stephanie Parkin

After much anticipation the new Franchising Code of Conduct is now publicly available and is due to commence on 1 January 2015.

Forget-me-not (just forget what I’ve done)

The right to be forgotten

Alex Hutchens, Malcolm McBratney, Sheena Fraser

To forget is human.  The problem is, the internet never forgets.  At least, not until now.

Earlier this year, European courts confirmed the right of Europeans in certain circumstances to request that information pertaining to them be deleted from the internet.  This means that they no longer have to rely on peoples’ fading memories for what they have done to be forgotten.

Star Wars strikes Bock

Alex Hutchens, John Kettle, Malcolm McBratney, Paul McLachlan

Lucasfilm, the production company behind Star Wars, has filed a trade mark dispute with a small brewery in New York.  Lucasfilm, a subsidiary of Disney, is opposing Empire Brewing Company’s application for its ‘Strikes Bock’ brand of beer.

Spurr vs New Matilda: landmark case considers interplay between right to privacy, confidentiality and the public interest

Alex Hutchens, Alexia Marinos

A landmark privacy case is currently being heard in the Federal Court involving a university professor, an online news site and the publication of controversial leaked emails.  The outcome of this case is likely to have significant implications for the media and public generally.

New EU practice for black and white trade marks

Malcolm McBratney, Kellie Jukkola, Alexia Marinos

The European Union (EU) has recently introduced a new practice for how black and white trade marks are dealt with.  The new practice affects all trade mark applications and registrations for Community Trade Marks and national trade marks in EU Member States, except for Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Norway and Sweden.

‘Just browsing’ - US Court finds online customer not bound by browsewrap licence

Alex Hutchens, Kiran Bath

A recent US decision, which found that the terms of a ‘browsewrap’ licence were not enforceable against the user of a prominent online sales portal, is a timely reminder that the law of contract still applies to online transactions.

In Nguyen v Barnes & Noble Inc. 2014 WL 405649 (9th Cir. Aug. 18, 2014) the Ninth Circuit Court refused to enforce the browsewrap terms of Barnes & Noble (B&N), a popular online books and gifts retailer.

Harper Review Draft Report: An appetite for reform

 

Alex Hutchens, John Kettle, Paul McLachlan, Kiran Bath

The much anticipated draft report of the Competition Policy Review Panel was released last week with the Panel making over 50 draft recommendations.  With over 300 submissions considered and over 300 pages making up the draft report, one thing is clear from the broad array of issues addressed: Australia’s competition policy is in need of a makeover.

The Panel took seriously its mandate to undertake a ‘root and branch’ review of competition law.  It considered sectors of the economy that are currently exempt from competition law and made specific recommendations about them.  The panel also made overall recommendations relating to competition law generally and the agencies that administer competition law.

OPSM parent company loses $33.5 million ADF contract for privacy breach

The parent company of OPSM, Luxottica Retail Australia has lost a $33.5 million contract with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) by sending ADF medical records overseas.

Luxottica was awarded the contract by the ADF in 2012 under which it provided optical services to all ADF personnel.  At that time, Luxottica claimed that it would exclusively offer eye services to more than 80,000 ADF personnel each year primarily through its OPSM stores.