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.
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.
Communications software company Cellos Software has been awarded $42 million in damages from its former CEO and director Jason Huber, who secretly bought and sold millions of company shares for personal profit.
Defunct financial adviser Dover Financial has sued three separate law firms for allegedly negligent advice over a ‘client protection policy’ that the Federal Court found was misleading, deceptive and an “exercise in Orwellian doublespeak”.
The High Court has agreed to weigh in on a decision last year to pick Maurice Blackburn’s case as the winner of a beauty parade of shareholder class actions against AMP over the wealth manager’s controversial fees for no service.
Fresh off the back of a $212.5 million settlement in three class actions over the Defence Department’s use of fire-fighting foam, Shine Laywers has launched another class action over the toxic chemical on behalf of 40,000 residents across Australia.
Camping goods retailer Aussie Disposals has entered voluntary administration, blaming the summer bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic for its fate.
Administrators of collapsed retailer Colette by Colette Hayman will not have to pay over $714,000 in rent after court ruled that a temporary rent freeze in light of the COVID-19 crisis was in the interests of the company’s creditors.
The High Court has quashed a search warrant obtained by the Australian Federal Police and used to raid a News Corp journalist’s home, but did not go so far as to order the return or destruction of documents obtained in the raid.
Payday lender Cigno has lost a challenge to the corporate regulator’s first action under powers to prohibit ‘predatory’ financial products that targeted its model of short-term credit lending.