Just over five years after the California-based retail giant Deckers Outdoor Corp. (Deckers) filed a lawsuit against Sydney-based footwear company, Australian Leather Pty Ltd (Australian Leather) for trademark infringement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled in favour of Deckers.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the previous decision of the district court which found that Australian Leather had wilfully infringed Deckers’ “UGG” trademarks by selling less than 15 pairs of UGG branded boots in the U.S., awarding Deckers $USD450,000 in damages and ordering a permanent injunction preventing Australian Leather from (among other things) “using … the UGG mark or designation, or any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation thereof, in any manner and in any format, case or spelling, on or in connection with the sale, offering for sale, distribution, or advertising of any product in the United States or its territories.” Continue Reading
Software Patents: When is enough enough?
A recent Supreme Court decision has finally put an end to the longstanding fight between Oracle and Google concerning Google’s use of Oracle’s copyrighted Java Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The Supreme Court’s decision held that, contrary to the decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals which was discussed in our 
Introduction
The rise of online intermediaries, such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook, has radically changed the way in which many businesses and individuals operate and has introduced novel legal and business questions and challenges. It is easier and cheaper than ever for bad actors to use online tools, whether it be websites, platforms, or online profiles, to commit a variety of unlawful activities such as impersonating a business, associating themselves with a business without any such connection, or otherwise attempting to trade on the goodwill of a business. As each new platform or service is created, more opportunities exist for unlawful activity, including intellectual property (“IP”) infringement and violations. These developments have caused significant challenges for businesses seeking to enforce their IP rights and protect their brands and reputations. 
The title of this piece tracks a common “
Suppose that you want to obtain a patent for an invention and, in your claims of the patent application, you recite terms as a structure with functional language or means-plus-function language. What if this language requires an algorithm to carry out the function and you fail to disclose the algorithm in your patent application? Can the patent claims be held indefinite for failing to disclose the algorithm? The answer may be YES! 
When we say “meme”, we usually mean an internet meme. An Internet meme is an idea (and some content embodying this idea) spread via the Internet.
When a corporation expands its business into Canada, consideration should be given to whether it can register its brand as a trademark in this new market. While a corporation may operate in this market without registered trademarks, many statutory frameworks, like the Canadian regime, offer additional benefits to companies
Foreign entities looking to register Australian domain names need to be aware that the eligibility requirements have changed and the threshold is now much higher. If a foreign entity is relying on a registered Australia trademark to meet the Australia presence requirement, they must ensure that their domain is an exact match to that trademark. 