26 Sept 2019
ENERGY BEVERAGES LLC v PROLIFE FOODS LIMITED [2019] NZHC 1691
- Citation
- [2019] NZHC 1691
- Court
- High Court
The Court upheld the Assistant Commissioner's finding that Energy Beverages failed to prove sufficient awareness of its MOTHER-formative marks in New Zealand at the filing dates (evidence was hearsay, undated, or post-dated and lacked NZ sales/advertising data). Even assuming reputation, the marks (overall impressions) and most goods are not similar: only beverages overlapped but the visual, aural and conceptual differences (MOTHER vs MOTHER EARTH with prominent device/taglines and different market positioning and trade channels) mean no likelihood of deception or confusion. Therefore the Com…