Mars Australia v Sweet Rewards - Federal Court - IP litigation
We succesfully defended Sweet Rewards Pty Ltd, the Australian distributor of Petra Foods Limited. Mars Australia alleged that its rights in the packaging of its iconic Maltesers product have been infringed by a ‘Malt Balls’ chocolate ball product sold by Sweet Rewards. Sweet Rewards also supplies the same product (in different packaging) to Coles Supermarkets as part of its very successful ‘You'll Love Coles’ home brand range
Stolichnaya Vodka trade mark dispute
We represent SPI Spirits, owner of the famous Stolichnaya vodka brand. Our team is acting for SPI Spirits in Federal Court litigation concerning the Stolichnaya trade mark, one of the world’s top vodka brands. It is part of worldwide litigation and is likely to become one of the most significant trade mark cases in Australia.
Lion Nathan - Barefoot trade mark litigation and trade mark portfolio management
We successfully defended trade mark infringement proceedings commenced by E. & J. Gallo in relation to its Barefoot wine brand and Lion Nathan’s major new beer launch, Barefoot Radler. Barefoot wine is one of the fastest growing wines in the USA and E. & J. Gallo are notorious worldwide for protecting its brands.
Cadbury v Darrell Lea (Federal Court Proceedings)
We acted for Cadbury in these long running proceedings which were crucial to Cadbury’s brand protection strategy for the colour purple. The Full Federal Court decision clarified the admissibility of expert opinion evidence, which caused considerable debate in intellectual property legal circles. The decision also clarified certain legal principles about the role of reputation in actions for passing off misleading and deceptive conduct.
Bodum intellectual property cases
Our team has acted for Bodum in various Federal Court cases involving breaches of the Trade Practices Act and the tort of passing off. It is expected that the judgement will deal with the protection of iconic designs via Trade Practices Act and the tort of passing off, and the differences between these causes of action.
Opera House
We are acting for the Sydney Opera House Trust in relation to brand and trade mark protection for the Sydney Opera House and its famous iconic building. This has involved securing novel trade marks for two representations of the Opera House building and devising and implementing an overall brand enforcement campaign.
Sydney Opera House - Sydney Seaplanes trade mark opposition and image protection program
Sydney Seaplanes were making extensive use of an Opera House image in their advertising and on their sea planes (which fly constantly around the harbour). We commenced trade mark opposition proceedings and prepared extensive evidence showing not only that the image of the Opera House is famous but that it has been extensively commercialised through sponsorships and other associations. The challenge was to present evidence that acknowledged that while the Sydney Opera House was a recognised symbol of Australia, in a commercial context its use was recognised as associated with the Sydney Opera House.
Lion Nathan: The acceptance of the NEW trade mark and other strategic intellectual property advice
Mallesons manages Lion Nathan’s Australian beer and RTD trade mark portfolios which include over 750 marks relating to many famous brands such as XXXX, TOOHEYS and HAHN. Mallesons also has global responsibility for Lion Nathan’s wine trade mark portfolio.