ARTICLE · 16 SEPTEMBER 2012

Are Australia Post and Digital Post Australia the same?

Marque Lawyers

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AUSTRALIA POST and DIGITAL POST AUSTRALIA were not deceptively similar marks when referring to digital mail services.

AustraliaIntellectual Property

Christopher Toole (Formerly With Marque Lawyers)

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AUSTRALIA POST, that iconic brand that delivers to our office a ridiculous volume of shoes, skirts, dresses, surfboards, ski boots, wall hangings and pretty much everything else our staff buy online, tried to halt the use by another company of the name DIGITAL POST AUSTRALIA.

Australia Post said that DIGITAL POST AUSTRALIA is deceptively similar to AUSTRALIA POST when referring to digital mail services, but sense prevailed and the court disagreed.

The similarities aren't too hard to spot. Turn 'Australia Post' backwards, add the word 'digital' and what do you have? DIGITAL POST AUSTRALIA.

So how does the court decide these disputes?

The test is quite simple: Would you be confused between the two services and think they came from the same place?

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