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Taking a punt on the SPORTINGBET mark

Trade marks – misleading or deceptive conduct – interlocutory injunction –  user of “SPORTSBET” seeks restraint on use of “SPORTINGBET” – characteristics of online betting market – admissibility of focus group report – prima facie case – previous co-existence of rival names – balance of convenience – need to find new name

Mistake in pharmaceutical patent wording a hard pill to swallow

Patents – pharmaceutical products – paracetamol tablets – erroneous description of testing apparatus –whether claims should be construed so as to avoid the error – level of detail required in describing ingredients in pharmaceutical formulations – relevance of manufacturing and processing information in marketing authorisation application

Mining equipment patent lives up to (some of) its promises

Patents – novelty – whether language in claim described the function of integers for a locking mechanism or also specified position – utility – “promise” of the invention – “composite” promises – specification refers to multiple advantages conveyed by the invention – whether promises to be interpreted cumulatively or disjunctively

United we fall: Sinking a float, responsibly

A company’s claims against its lawyers and non-executive chairperson after a failed attempt to list have been dismissed. The case offers a unique insight into a float which sunk and the gruelling hours worked by the company’s advisors, and stands as a testament to the judgment exercised by the company’s non-executive directors, who were placed in an invidious position.

Security of Payment: Primacy of contract and assessment of subsequently identified defects

The Supreme Court has emphasised the primacy of the building contract in granting a right to make a claim for final payment and confirmed the requirement for an adjudicator to be satisfied as to the ‘value’ of the works, notwithstanding that alleged defects that were subsequently identified existed at the time of a previous adjudication.

Political bulls in the China shop: who’ll pick up the pieces of a national energy policy?

The National Energy Guarantee, Australia’s latest attempt to forge a coherent energy and emissions reduction policy, had been painstakingly negotiated by the Energy Security Board, through a wide range of interest groups.  In its aftermath, how coherent policymaking can be co-ordinated in this fraught policy space remains as pressing a question as ever before.

 

Got a hunch? Navigating the rules of preliminary discovery

The rules of most Victorian courts permit a party, in certain circumstances, to obtain discovery of material prior to commencing proceedings. Like many rule-based tests, there can be some confusion about the requirements as well as the discretionary factors involved in obtaining preliminary discovery. The Supreme Court in a recent appeal decision has shed some light.