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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 LAWS3248

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 – LAWS3248

Table of Contents Trade Marks and the Protection of Trade Reputation ............................................................................... 4 Introduction to Trade Marks, Passing Off & Consumer Protection ................................................................. 4 Tort of Passing Off .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 Trade Mark Law .................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Justifications for Protecting Trade Marks and Indicia ..................................................................................... 4 Trade Marks and Indicia as Sources of Information ........................................................................................................... 4 Preventing Misappropriation of Reputation....................................................................................................................... 5 Dilution ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Registration......................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Laws .............................................................................................................................................................. 6 Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) ........................................................................................................................ 6 Sources of Trade Mark Law................................................................................................................................................. 6

Passing Off and Consumer Protection Legislation ..................................................................................... 8 Tests for Tort of Passing Off ........................................................................................................................... 8 The Advocaat Test .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 The Reckitt & Colman Test .................................................................................................................................................. 8

Reputation or Goodwill ................................................................................................................................. 9 Reputation in Descriptive Words ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Reputation in Packaging, Product Shape and Other Indicia ............................................................................................. 10 Location of Reputation ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 Temporal Considerations .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Ownership of Goodwill ..................................................................................................................................................... 16

Misrepresentation, or Misleading or Deceptive Conduct .............................................................................16 Relevant Standard: Is mere confusion sufficient? ............................................................................................................ 16 Origin ................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 Quality .............................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Extended Passing Off and Quality ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Sponsorship, Endorsement, Affiliation ............................................................................................................................. 21

Damages and Remedies............................................................................................................................... 22 Forms of Damage.............................................................................................................................................................. 22 Remedies .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23

Registered Trade Marks .......................................................................................................................... 24 Registration Process .................................................................................................................................... 24 Application for Registration (ss 27 – 29)........................................................................................................................... 24

Types of Trade Marks .................................................................................................................................. 24 Standard Trade Marks ...................................................................................................................................................... 24

Absolute Grounds of Refusal .......................................................................................................................25 Distinctiveness .................................................................................................................................................................. 25 Graphical Representation ................................................................................................................................................. 26 Scandalous Marks ............................................................................................................................................................. 26 Contrary to Law ................................................................................................................................................................ 26

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 – LAWS3248 Deceptive or Confusing Connotation ................................................................................................................................ 27 No Intention to Use .......................................................................................................................................................... 29 Bad Faith ........................................................................................................................................................................... 29

Relative Grounds of Refusal ........................................................................................................................ 30 Conflicts with earlier registered marks or applications under s 44 .................................................................................. 30 Conflict with an earlier mark with a reputation................................................................................................................ 35 Contrary to Law ................................................................................................................................................................ 36 Deceptive and Confusing Connotations ............................................................................................................................ 36 Ownership......................................................................................................................................................................... 37 Bad Faith ........................................................................................................................................................................... 38 Conflict with Geographical Indication (GI) ........................................................................................................................ 38 Summary ........................................................................................................................................................................... 39

Infringement, Defences and Loss of Rights and Exploitation ........................................................................ 40 Infringement ..................................................................................................................................................................... 40 Use of a Sign ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Use as a Trade Mark ......................................................................................................................................................... 41

Patent Law ............................................................................................................................................. 42 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 42 Justification for the Patent System ................................................................................................................................... 42

History of the Patent System ....................................................................................................................... 43 Playing Cards and Other Monopolies ............................................................................................................................... 43 Scourges of Modern Patent Law – Patent Trolls/Thickets ................................................................................................ 43

The Framework of the Australian Patent System ......................................................................................... 44 Sources of Patent Law ...................................................................................................................................................... 44 Application Process ........................................................................................................................................................... 44 Rights of the Patentee ...................................................................................................................................................... 47 Other Patent-like IP Rights ................................................................................................................................................ 47

Subject Matter of Patentable Inventions: Manner of Manufacture .............................................................. 48 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Patentable Inventions ....................................................................................................................................................... 48 Subject Matter Requirement: Manner of Manufacture ................................................................................................... 48

Subject Matter at the Borderline of Patentability ........................................................................................ 52 Computer Programs and Computer-Implemented Methods of Doing Business .............................................................. 53 Methods embodying laws of nature ................................................................................................................................. 56 Discoveries and Products of Nature ................................................................................................................................. 56 Methods of Treatment ..................................................................................................................................................... 57 Morality, Public Interest and General Inconvenience ...................................................................................................... 58

Novelty and Inventive Step ..................................................................................................................... 60 Requirements .............................................................................................................................................. 60 Patentability Requirements .............................................................................................................................................. 60 Prior Art Base .................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Novelty.............................................................................................................................................................................. 61

Novelty ....................................................................................................................................................... 61 2

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 – LAWS3248 What is novelty? ............................................................................................................................................................... 61 Anticipation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Combination of documents and acts ................................................................................................................................ 62

Inventive Step ............................................................................................................................................. 62 Hypothetical skilled person .............................................................................................................................................. 62 Obviousness – Obvious to try ........................................................................................................................................... 63 Threshold requirements of an invention .......................................................................................................................... 63

Usefulness ................................................................................................................................................... 64 Test 64

Secret Use ................................................................................................................................................... 64

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 – LAWS3248

Trade Marks and the Protection of Trade Reputation Introduction to Trade Marks, Passing Off & Consumer Protection Tort of Passing Off - It is tort of misrepresenting one’s own goods as the goods of someone else – while it is about protecting a trader’s property interest in its trading reputation, it also prevents consumer confusion - At common law, the tort of passing off does not protect a property interest in the mark itself (Reddaway v Banham) - Instead, the tort of passing off protects the property in the ‘reputation’ or ‘goodwill’ of the trader, which is manifest in or associated to the mark (AG Spalding & Bros v AW Gamage Ltd (1915)) o In other words, the property interest is in the goodwill or reputation of the trader o This means you cannot assign registered trade mark rights without the underlying goodwill or reputation (see recent Kraft v Bega case) - Summary – it provides a remedy for the invasion of a right of property not in the mark, name or get-up improperly used, but in the business or goodwill likely to be injured by the misrepresentation made by passing off one person’s goods as the good of another (Star Industrial Co Ltd v Yap Kwee Kor [1976]) - It protects registered and unregistered marks Trade Mark Law - Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) liberalised what could be registered as a trade mark, what constitutes an infringement and the assignment and licensing provisions - The registration system provided easier-to-enforce rights for many marks and in turn the tort of passing off soon expanded to provide broader protection than that available under registered trade mark law - Unlike the tort of passing off, it is not focused on preventing consumer confusion – it is intended to regulate the conduct of competing traders in the marketplace o Australian registered trade mark statutes have always tolerated some degree of consumer confusion, and can best be seen as attempting to balance sometimes conflicting interests in regulating the conduct of competing traders, as well as safeguarding consumers (Campomar Sociedad Limitada v Nike International Ltd [2000]) - Australian law has never expanded the scope of trade mark rights to protect the registered mark in disparate or unrelated industries unless the trader has a particularly protectable reputation

Justifications for Protecting Trade Marks and Indicia -

Trade marks receive legal protection for largely economic reasons However, the protection afforded to marks and indicia are far more limited in scope in comparison to copyright and patents

Trade Marks and Indicia as Sources of Information - TMs communicate valuable information that allows consumers to make informed choices about their purchases à reduce consumer search costs and increase economic efficiency of markets o TMs reward the manufacturer who consistently produces high quality goods and they thus stimulate economic progress

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 – LAWS3248 -

Indication of origin – indicates that the good or service bearing the mark come from a particular trade source or entity (i.e. company responsible) Product Differentiation – help traders differentiate their G&S from those of others Quality Guarantee – TM indicates that the good are of a similar quality to other goods bearing that mark

Preventing Misappropriation of Reputation - TMs are intended to prevent misappropriation of a brand owner’s labour, investment and reputation - Natural rights argument – a party should not be allowed to reap the benefits of another trader’s labour - However, it is argued that this justification extends to encompass situations where the user can be said to be taking advantage of or otherwise harming the TMs reputation, even in the absence of consumer confusion – protect brand image - Advertising function – it is argued that TMs are symbols of desirable commodities in their own right and thus are outward manifestations of a company’s brand Dilution - Australia does not have specific anti-dilution laws – although certain decisions in effect protect brand value - This tends to be limited to particularly famous marks or marks with a reputation - It is the concern that a TM will be diluted if it becomes associated with a variety of unrelated products, e.g. upscale restaurant calls itself Tiffany or strip-tease joint calls itself Tiffany - Dilution includes (Ty Inc...