The recent Federal Court case of RB (Hygiene Home) Australia Pty Ltd v Henkel Australia Pty Ltd canvasses a number of trade mark-related issues. In this Insight, we focus on a particularly interesting aspect of the decision – whether the applicant had used its registered marks 'as trade marks' ...

Australian courts must often decide whether two trade marks are 'deceptively similar'. A recent Full Federal Court decision emphasises that this deceptive similarity must arise from the resemblance of the marks themselves — not from their actual use or reputation. ...

The highest court in Switzerland, the Federal Supreme Court, has overturned a lower court's decision and found that Lidl's chocolate bunnies have infringed Lindt's trade marks for the shape of its own chocolate bunnies. The court has ordered Lidl to 'destroy' – or, to avoid food wastage ...

The most recent decision regarding the six-year intellectual property dispute between Microsoft Corporation and computer retailer and wholesaler CPL serves as a warning about the importance of obtaining all appropriate licences when installing third party software. ...

It seems there are stormy seas ahead for common ownership issues in Australia, as the ACCC has indicated an increased appetite to scrutinise transactions involving parties with minority interests or common ownership in competing firms. ...

At the annual Tax Institute Tax Summit, Partner Joseph Power and Managing Associate Jay Prasad delivered a paper on 'Capital Management and M&A'. It examines the new proposed tax integrity rule for franked distributions funded by capital raisings, the decision in Aurizon and capital contributions, how the ATO's views on demergers have (re)shaped the demerger landscape and some tips and traps when paying a special dividend in connection with a scheme of arrangement. ...

In the second case to consider the general anti-avoidance rule contained in Part IVA since it was amended in 2013, a single judge of the Federal Court has held that the overall restructuring of a loan securitisation business from a corporate group to a corporate group and a separate trust group, which ultimately became a stapled structure, was legitimate and not rendered ineffective for income tax purposes. ...

Covered in this webinar: key structuring considerations for cross-border financing transactions, including choice of lending platform, use of offshore and onshore security, and regulatory licensing requirements; typical legal and regulatory risks faced by foreign lenders and how to navigate core issues such as foreign exchange controls, security registration, and enforceability of foreign judgments and security; recent legal and market developments affecting offshore financings in Vietnam, including changes to the foreign loan registration regime and practical implications for deal structuring and execution; and common pitfalls in cross-border lending to Vietnamese borrowers and tested strategies for mitigating lender risk, as encountered in recent transactions advised by our speakers. ...

Covered in this webinar: the latest regulatory changes in Vietnam’s power sector with a focus on the key developments introduced in decrees 57/2025 and 58/2025; how the changes align with the new Law on Electricity 2024 and the evolving PDP8 and PDP8 Implementation Plan; market implications for renewable energy transactions and project development; and practical strategies for navigating the shifting regulatory landscape. ...

Covered in this webinar: Our perspective on common scenarios where it can be critical to establish and maintain legal professional privilege. Whether and how legal professional privilege can apply to specific business human rights work products such as human rights impact assessments, investigation reports and more. The pitfalls associated with seeking to establish and maintain legal professional privilege, and strategies to avoid them. ...