Archive for September 11th, 2009

Shape and colour trade marks

Friday, September 11th, 2009
Julian Lee, in the Age yesterday, reported on the concerns of "marketers" about how hard Australian regulators are making it to register a shape as a trade mark, in the wake of:
  1. last month's ruling by Sundberg J against Guylian's sea-horse shaped chocolate; and
  2. the commencement of Nestle's appeal against Aldi's successful opposition to registration of the shape of a Kit Kat bar as a trade mark (BDW discussed the decision here, but the decision itself seems to be hiding on-line).
To digress for a moment from the "shape" issue - Mr Lee also reports that Cadbury and Darrell Lea have settled their long running litigation and Cadbury has secured registration of its trade mark for the colour purple. Back to "shape" marks, you might have thought from the tenor of Mr Lee's article that Australia is yet again embarking on anutochthonous experience, but it seems that the Europeans are playing hardball too; e.g. here and here.

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