Legal issues, laws and regulations concerning the world of fashion and luxury goods.
In Paige v Sage and Paige1, the Federal Court considered the existence of brand collaborations in the fashion industry, colloquially known as “collabs”, in assessing the deceptive similarity of trade marks.
Read MoreIn a recent decision of the Australian Trade Marks Office, Karen Walker Limited successfully opposed the registration of the mark ‘Runaway the Label‘ for clothing, footwear and headgear (class 25) and online retail services (class 35). We focus here on Delegate’s findings on deceptive similarity under s 44 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).
Read MoreAdvocate General Nicholas Emiliou has delivered his opinion in the case Deity Shoes, S.L. v Mundorama Confort, S.L. and another (Case C 323/24). The case considers whether a footwear design made by Deity Shoes, S.L. (Deity Shoes) qualified for protection as a design in the European Union and raised important questions about the relevance of the status of the designer’s effort and skill and surrounding factors in the assessment of design.
Read MoreOur first article in this series highlighted the financial and reputational damage counterfeiting causes to brand owners and the significant societal consequences associated with the reproduction, sale and dissemination of counterfeit products around the globe. We looked at how having strong Intellectual Property (IP) protection, selling through social or e-commerce platforms that have rigorous seller verification processes and educating consumers, retail and social platforms about the difference between genuine and counterfeit products, are all fundamental strategies which can be effective in the fight against online counterfeiting. Supplementing these steps with strategic enforcement action and IP protection measures are equally important.
Read MoreIn this two-part series, we show not only how to protect your brand from counterfeiting but also how your efforts to do so can simultaneously reduce organised crime, people trafficking, forced labour, toxic health risks and environmental crimes.
Read MoreOn 16 April 2025, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands handed down a decision relating to the complex issue of trade mark exhaustion in the context of parallel trade disputes.
Read MoreIn the long-running trade mark dispute between international popstar Katy Perry and Australian fashion designer Katie Taylor, the Full Federal Court has overturned the first instance decision of Taylor v Killer Queen, LLC (No 5) [2023] FCA 364 and ordered that Taylor’s trade mark be cancelled.
Read MoreThe United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a final rule this week aimed at combating the increasingly prevalent practice of selling or purchasing fake online reviews and testimonials for goods or services. While such unfair or deceptive acts are already unlawful, the final rule is aimed at increasing deterrence by allowing courts to impose civil penalties against violators and to seek orders requiring violators to compensate consumers for the harm caused by their conduct.
Read MoreMarketing and social media campaigns designed to promote a brand, product, service or business where consumers enter a competition to win a prize are known as “trade promotions” and typically fall within two categories – “games of skill” and “games of chance”.
Read MoreThe Department for Business and Trade has extended the deadline for responses to be submitted to its consultation on the deregulation of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (the CARs), as part of a plan to review the needs of UK businesses following the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU).
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