Coffee brand Vittoria can’t transfer a case over the trade mark for rival Moccona’s instant coffee jar from one Federal Court registry to another, with a judge reminding the company that the court was “well into the 21st century” and could livestream hearings without the need for interstate travel.
Moccona’s instant coffee jar shape trade mark should be cancelled because the mark is functional and can’t distinguish the company’s goods, the owner of coffee brand Vittoria argues in a trade mark infringement cross-claim.
A judge overseeing a competition class action against Queensland power companies Stanwell and CS Energy has warned that judges need to be inventive in how they manage large group proceedings, otherwise the “system will collapse”.
In a class action long delayed by a battle over foreign shareholders, BHP Group has finally filed a defence, denying it misled shareholders over a failed Brazilian dam and saying knowledge about the risk of collapse cannot be imputed to the Melbourne-headquartered energy giant.
The owners of Mother energy drinks and Vittoria Food & Beverage have both lost their challenges to each other’s ‘Motherland’ and ‘Mothersky’ trade marks and are considering taking the long-running stoush to the High Court.
Boston Scientific’s $105 million settlement of a class action over its pelvic mesh devices has secured court approval, but the costs billed by the law firm running the case will face further scrutiny.
A judge has ordered online bookmaker Entain and the Australian Hotels Association to hand over legal advice concerning their agreement to advertise digital wagering products in NSW pubs so that Tabcorp can decide whether to bring a case.
Acciona has hit back at a suit brought by the entity in charge of a $511 million waste-to-energy plant south of Perth alleging it was unlawfully shut out of the project site, with the Spanish infrastructure giant saying the entity had no “unlimited right of access.”
ANZ has been hit with a $10 million penalty in a case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleging the bank’s home loan ‘introducer’ referral program breached credit laws.
A trade mark stoush between the owners of coffee brands Moccona and Vittoria is “all about whether people think a jar means Moccona”, a court has heard.