Brands and trade marks are valuable marketing tools for any business. Properly protected, trade marks are not only a business asset of value but when “registered” become a very effective tool against copy cat competitors.

Not the first time Apple Inc has been featured in this blog, and by the looks of things, certainly not the last.

In a follow-up to our earlier blog about Mary-Ann Martinek’s trade mark application for SAM THE KOALA and image (see here) - we can now report that the Victorian State Government has filed an opposition to those applications with IP Australia, the government body governing trade mark applications.

The Government now has 3 months in which to file evidence in support of its opposition. Once filed, Ms Martinek will have 3 months to file her own evidence. However these deadlines can be extended so we will keep you posted on any developments as they arise.

- Jack Dolphin

Read about Actuate IP’s trade mark dispute services.

As the old saying goes - “any publicity is good publicity”. Well in the case of American pop starlet Katy Perry this may not be true. Her lawyers opposed a trade mark application by Australian fashion designer Katie Perry for her name KATIE PERRY in relation to clothing.

Many of you may have seen the now iconic image of Sam the Koala being fed water by CFA Volunteer David Tree after the Black Saturday bushfires. The iconic image can be purchased here from the Herald Sun website with all proceeds going to the CFA. Now someone has applied to register as a trade mark the words “SAM THE KOALA” for numerous goods including chocolates, colouring books, DVD’s, toys and soft toys and for tourism, sightseeing and educational services.

Arnott’s recently threatened legal action against the well known doughnut chain, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. over its use of the name Iced Dough-Vo. One of the claims alleged by Arnotts’ was that this use of the name was a breach of the Trade Marks Act, given the similarities of the name to its ICED VO-VO trade mark. We all know what an Iced Vo-Vo looks like. Krispy Kreme’s Iced Dough-Vo doughnut was topped in a pink fondant and sprinkled with coconut, reminiscent of the popular Arnott’s biscuit.

The saga continues as another famous brand accuses eBay of selling counterfeit goods.

Last month we reported on a pending WIPO UDRP dispute over the www.narnia.mobi domain name between the Estate of CS Lewis and a family in Scotland. The media coverage surrounding the dispute was significant, due largely to the respondent family’s claims that they purchased the domain name for their son, so he could have a “Narnia” e-mail address. The UDRP Panelist charged with deciding the dispute was not so easily swayed:

IP Australian has recently released figures relating to filings, acceptance and fields that applicants are filing in. It provides some insight as to where Australian’s are heading regarding Intellectual Property. Full results of their internal review can be found here.

The registration of .com.au is regulated by .au Domain Adminstration Ltd (auDA). Domains are registered through approved domain name Registrars. Once registered, the licensed holder of a .com.au domain name could only transfer the domain to another party in a limited set of circumstances (eg. settlement of a trade mark dispute or as part of a sale of business). Changes to the auDA Transfers (Change of Registrant) Policy which came recently came into effect on 1 June 2008 now allows a domain name registrant to transfer their domain name licence to another party for any reason.