NEWS: Michael Cassidy, Gina Tresidder and Kate Littlewood have been published in the Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, titled: IP Australia’s natural immunity to COVID-19
trade marks
Since March 2020 there has, unsurprisingly, been a
large number of trade mark applications filed for
“COVID-19”, “CORONA”, “CORONAVIRUS” marks in Australia. IP Australia has taken a hardline stance against trade
mark applications containing references to COVID-19.
Sidestepping the normally lengthy window for overcoming objections, IP Australia is issuing immediate Notices
of Intention to Reject trade mark applications for these
marks.
Michael Cassidy, Gina Tresidder and Kate Littlewood explore what IP Australia
is doing differently, including objecting to COVID-19 trade marks on the basis
they are scandalous, and question whether there may be a reasonable basis to
challenge this objection.
Please read the full article on page 75 of the Lexis Nexis Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, 2021 Volume 34 no 4.
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