AAP Industries Pty Limited v Han's Pipe Fittings Co Ltd [2018] FCA 1505

AAP Industries Pty Limited v Han's Pipe Fittings Co Ltd [2018] FCA 1505

Profit and loss statements, balance sheets and general ledgers were not shown to be directly relevant under r 20.14 and no order for their discovery was justified under r 20.15. The second and third respondents' discovery positions were not displaced. However, in the circumstances of the case, the applicants should be able to assess for themselves whether the first respondent's sales were causally related to the alleged copyright infringement, rather than rely only on the respondents' assessment; therefore the first respondent was required to discover purchase orders, invoices and receipts describing goods sold during the specified period.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
09 October 2018
Procedural Posture
Interlocutory Application for Discovery in Copyright and Australian Consumer Law Proceedings / Interlocutory Discovery Application
Outcome
The interlocutory application was allowed in part against the first respondent and otherwise dismissed.
Legal Topics
['standard Discovery' 'non Standard and More Extensive Discovery' 'discovery of Financial Records' 'discovery of Sales Records' 'copyright Infringement Damages and Account of Profits' 'misleading or Deceptive Conduct']
['practice and Procedure' 'intellectual Property' 'copyright' 'competition and Consumer Law'] ['standard Discovery' 'non Standard and More Extensive Discovery' 'discovery of Financial Records' 'discovery of Sales Records' 'copyright Infringement Damages and Account of Profits' 'misleading or Deceptive Conduct']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Interlocutory Application for Discovery in Copyright and Australian Consumer Law Proceedings / Interlocutory Discovery Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the respondents had complied with the order for standard discovery made on 4 July 2018.' 'Whether profit and loss statements, balance sheets and general ledgers for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2018 were directly relevant to issues raised by the pleadings or should otherwise be discovered.' 'Whether purchase orders, invoices and receipts describing goods sold by the first respondent should be discovered so that the applicants could assess any relationship between sales and the alleged copyright infringement.' 'Whether discovery should be ordered against the second and third respondents or whether their discovery affidavits should be accepted for interlocutory purposes.' 'Whether affidavits under r 20.21 should be ordered instead of further discovery.']

Ratio Decidendi

Profit and loss statements, balance sheets and general ledgers were not shown to be directly relevant under r 20.14 and no order for their discovery was justified under r 20.15. The second and third respondents' discovery positions were not displaced. However, in the circumstances of the case, the applicants should be able to assess for themselves whether the first respondent's sales were causally related to the alleged copyright infringement, rather than rely only on the respondents' assessment; therefore the first respondent was required to discover purchase orders, invoices and receipts describing goods sold during the specified period.

Court Disposition

The interlocutory application was allowed in part against the first respondent and otherwise dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Within 21 days of the date of these orders, the first respondent give discovery of purchase orders, invoices and receipts describing the goods sold by it for the period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2018.' "The applicants' interlocutory application filed 5 September 2018 be otherwise dismissed." 'Subject to order 4, the...