A judge has found that an Oregon electronic music duo “flagrantly” copied the 1977 disco hit ‘Love is in the Air’ but has rejected most claims for damages because the copyright holder of the song sued for each streaming and download of the song, rather than for the creation of the infringing work.
The Copyright Tribunal has dismissed an application by media monitoring firm Isentia to lower per-clip rates payable to collecting house Copyright Agency, rejecting arguments the higher fees had led to a loss of customers.
The Federal Court has found that Fuchs Lubricants infringed two patents owned by Quaker Chemicals by supplying hydraulic fluid to a Queensland mine owned by BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance.
Agricultural giant Bayer can’t block an Australian herbicide maker from trade marking ‘Preceed’ for its products, with a delegate from the Trade Marks Office finding the mark was not deceptively similar to Bayer’s ‘Precept’ weed killer mark.
Fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham has taken Sydney-based skincare company VB Skinlab to court, alleging it attempted to register two trade marks to trade off the reputation of her ‘VB’ marks.
As the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic IP offices around the world, like IP Australia, are accommodating the current reality. As with courts and other governmental institutions, these offices have adopted measures such as relaxing statutory deadlines and handling matters in accordance with social distancing practices. But there are several important points to observe in terms of engaging with IP Australia during this time, writes Gilbert + Tobin’s Lisa Lennon, John Lee, Chris Williams, Mindaugas Skavronskas and Sidney Kung.
Two Italian cheese consortiums have failed in separate bids to trade mark their respective cheeses, Gorgonzola and Asiago, with delegates ruling the trade marks were not capable of distinguishing each consortiumās products from other cheeses.
Kraft has lost an appeal in its high-stakes legal battle against Bega over the right to use its distinctive peanut butter trade dress in Australia.
Fashion designer Victoria Beckham has lost her opposition to two trade marks owned by Sydney-based skincare company VB Skinlab, despite IP Australia finding the former Spice Girl’s VB marks have a reputation in Australia.
Pop star Katy Perry has won her bid to split up the trial in high-stakes litigation with a Sydney-based fashion designer over who owns the rights to the ‘Katy Perry’ name in Australia.