Law firm Sparke Helmore has been accused of failing to heed concerns from client Nick Scali about “escalating legal costs” in an intellectual property lawsuit, leaving the furniture retailer with “no choice” but to switch law firms.
Pharmacy giant Priceline is the target of an “imminent” class action, with a group of dissatisfied franchisees accusing the company of exercising an “overly prescriptive” level of control over its franchises and fettering profitability.
A judge has signed off on a settlement in two shareholder class actions against clothing retailer Surfstitch, but has capped the legal costs and commissions sought by the litigation funders after finding the law firms behind the cases sent out notices to group members that were “misleading” and “understated” the risks of joining the class.
US consumer goods giant Kimberly-Clark has agreed to pay $200,000 for misleading ‘Made in Australia’ representations made on its ‘flushable’ wipes.
The maker of Vagisil feminine hygiene products has successfully overturned a ruling that denied its bid to stop a European competitor from registering Vagisan as a trade mark in Australia.
Multinational pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s has launched a lawsuit against a Melbourne biotechnology company’s directors as well as venture capital firm OneVentures, alleging they sold it dodgy lice treatment which was forecasted to make over US$100 million.
Online retailer Kogan has been fined $310,800 for sending marketing emails to more than 42 million consumers without an easy way to unsubscribe, in violation of spam laws.
The publisher of American fashion and lifestyle magazine Vogue has failed in its challenge against registration of a ‘Vogue’ trade mark for bathroom supplies, with a delegate of IP Australia finding the conduct of the trade mark applicant was not of “unscrupulous, underhand or unconscientious” character.
The Australian chapter of the Hells Angels bikie gang is once again going after online marketplace Redbubble for alleged intellectual property infringement, this time over a range of new products that include face masks bearing the group’s famous insignia.
The ACCC has taken legal action against women’s activewear company Lorna Jane for allegedly representing to consumers during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia that its anti-virus activewear would protect them from viruses, including COVID-19.