In a recent Federal Court decision, Hunter Pacific
International v Martec Pty Ltd [2016] FCA 796, the Hon.
Nicholas J found that importation and sale of Martec's Razor
ceiling fan (Razor) infringed Australian Registered design No.
340171 (AU 340171).
For comparison, corresponding images of AU 340171 and the Razor
are shown below.
Given that the two designs were not identical, the question of
infringement fell on whether the two designs were substantially
similar in overall impression. Consequently, the
considerations outlined in Section 19 of the Designs Act 2003 are
to be applied. These considerations include: giving more weight to
similarities than to differences, having regard of the state of
development of the prior art, having regard to any features
identified in the statement of the newness and distinctiveness,
having regard to the importance of the features that are
substantially similar, and having consideration for the freedom for
the creator to
