AUstRALIA
Richard Gough and Elisabeth White
Baker & McKenzie
toUGHER tIMEs
foR BRAnD oWnERs
In the past year, several decisions have given Australian brand owners pause as a whole, is the word Maltesers, and the absence of the Maltesers brand on
for thought. a third-party product is suffi cient to avoid misleading consumers.
trademarks, passing-off and misleading conduct
Th e decision represents a signifi cant step back for brand owners attempting
to protect their commercially signifi cant packaging get-up. Previous
Mars Australia v. sweet Rewards Australian full courts, and the courts of other jurisdictions, have more
In a decision that many will interpret as a blow to famous brand owners,
robustly protected get-up rights in similar cases. Brand owners and their
the Full Federal Court dismissed an appeal by Mars Australia against a
advisors will be concerned that this appeal court has eff ectively endorsed
trial judgment in favour of Sweet Rewards. Sweet Rewards distributed and
the trial judge’s fi nding that the reputation of a famous brand name may be
sold a Malt Balls confectionery product, which Mars claimed adopted key
used against a brand owner seeking to protect its distinctive pack designs.
distinctive elements of the pack design of its famous Maltesers product. Th e
Nevertheless, each case will be decided as a matter of impression and the
overriding consideration in misleading conduct cases will be the likelihood
Sweet Rewards product labelling incorporated a red background, images of
of consumer confusion, meaning that this is unlikely to be the last word on
fl oating brown balls and the words ‘Malt Balls’ in stylised form. Th e product
the protection of famous get-up in Australia.
did not use the name ‘Maltesers’.
On trademark infringement, the court held that the use of the words
E & J Gallo Winery v. Lion nathan Australia
Malt Balls, the colour red and the images of fl oating brown balls did not Th e Full Federal Court surprisingly upheld a Federal Court ruling that Gallo’s
constitute trademark use. Sweet Rewards had therefore not used a mark that Barefoot registration for wine should be removed for non-use even though
was deceptively similar to Mars’ trademark registrations for the Maltesers wine bearing the Barefoot trademark had been imported into Australia and
pack design. On the question of passing-off /misleading conduct, the court sold by a wholesaler within the relevant three-year non-use period. Th e
held that the distinguishing feature of the Maltesers get-up and trademarks, question was whether this was use by the registered owner of the mark.
34 World Intellectual Property Review Digest 2009 www.worldipreview.com
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