In Newcastle Permanent Building Society Ltd v Allan Crew[2009] ATMO 55 the Building Society failed in its attempt to prevent words (Our Town and Our Town Newcastle) that had been used by it in previous marketing campaigns from being registered as Trade Marks for a proposed television series about Newcastle.

The Registrar of Trade Mark’s Delegate decided that he was not satisfied that the Building Society’s residual reputation in its trade mark was extensive enough for the use of these substantially identical trade marks in the entertainment field to deceive or cause confusion in the Australian marketplace.

In University of Western Australia v Gray [2009] FCAFC 116 , the University failed in its appeal against a Federal Court judgment that ownership of an invention relating to cancer treatment belonged to its employee who was appointed to teach and to conduct and stimulate research (originally discussed here).

In a lengthy decision with significant commercial implications, the Full Court totally rejected UWA’s claim against Dr Gray that by reason of his employment he had obligations to UWA in respect of the inventions, and that as a result UWA had proprietary rights in respect of them and of associated patent applications and patents, and that by reason of Dr Gray’s having dealt with the inventions as his own UWA was entitled to obtain certain remedies from him.