Regulators

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has hit financial services provider AMP with court action over fees-for-no-service conduct that allegedly led to upwards of $600,000 being unlawfully withdrawn from superannuation member accounts.

A judge weighing a dispute between ASIC and the Commonwealth Bank over whether notice of a $7 million penalty should be sent out through the bank's Commbank app has questioned the usefulness of adverse publicity notices and whether they should be ditched for higher pecuniary penalties in the future.

IP Australia has refused to register a patent acquired by Elanco Australasia from Bayer covering a lice treatment, after amendments failed to address findings that the patent lacked an inventive step.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has secured declarations in its case against a Sargon Capital subsidiary, which partnered with a superfund promoter accused of misleading customers in marketing calls.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has appealed a judge's decision throwing out its competition case over an agreement for the privatisation of two NSW ports, calling the case "a matter of significance for the Australian economy".

The a2 Milk Company has urged the Federal Court to allow its 'a2 Milk' and 'True a2' trade marks to be registered, arguing they're not merely descriptive of a protein in milk.

Queensland crane company NQCranes wants to strike out the bulk of the ACCC's amended case alleging a conspiracy with a multinational rival to divide the Brisbane and Newcastle markets, saying there was no evidence of the regulator's new allegations of a second cartel agreement.

A judge has vacated next year's trial in ASIC's insider trading case against Westpac despite "misgivings", and has made orders regarding confidential evidence after the Australian financial watchdog argued that handing the material to the bank could damage its relationship with its Hong Kong counterpart.

A judge has hit women's activewear company Lorna Jane with a $5 million penalty for representing to consumers during the height of the coronavirus crisis last year that its activewear would protect them from viruses including COVID-19.

A judge has given the liquidators of Linchpin Capital a final chance to defend a shareholder class action before judgment is made against the collapsed financial services group and one of its subsidiaries.