Australia - sales Outside of chosen Territory indicates Infringement

06-04-12

The Australian Federal Court has ruled that trademark holders can sue for infringement where their licensees and their associates market trademarked products circumscribed by territorial limitations, in a stricter enforcement of laws against illegal parallel imports. An associate of Great White Shark Enterprises (GSW) (trademark owner), The Greg Norman Collection Inc, had entered into a licensing agreement with the Indian manufacturer BTB Marketing for the production and retail of Greg Norman products exclusively in India.

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BTB then sold the designated products to Sunsports, a company in Pakistan, which were later imported by Australian retailer Paul’s Retail Pty for sale in Australia, where the Greg Norman brand was in use. GSW sued Paul’s for infringement under section 120(1) of the Australian Trade Marks Act 1995, for selling the imported products without prior consent. In defense, the retail company argued that the goods were manufactured legitimately by GSW’s authorized manufacturers under its authorized brand, which the Federal Court did not buy as the parallel imports were marketed without GSW’s consent. BTB was not authorized to manufacture the products for Sunsports. Additionally, Paul’s Retail contravened sections 52(1) and 53(e) of the Trade Practices Act by falsifying the price of the concerned products.
Source: World Patent and Trademark News

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