Fido Dido Inc. & Anor v. Venture Stores (Retailers) Pty Ltd & Anor [1988] FCA 285

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA)

) NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY) No. G953 of 1988

) GENERAL DIVISION )

BETWEEN: FIDO DIDO INC. First Applicant

UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Second Applicant

AND: VENTURE STORES (RETAILERS) PTY. LIMITED

First Respondent

GAZAL CORPORATION LIMITED

Second Respondent

CORAM: M. L. FOSTER, J. DATE: TUESDAY, 7 JUNE, 1988.

PLACE: SYDNEY.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT ( EXTEMPORE }

HIS HONOUR: The first applicant in these proceedings is a corporation incorporated in accordance with the laws of the State of New York in the United States of America. It carries on the business of creating cartoon characters and designs and licensing other persons and corporations to use those characters and

designs for the purpose of aiding sales of their products. In

2. other words, it creates and licences characters for use in the now well known business of character merchandising. In particular, it has created the character known as "Fido Dido" and other characters in what has been described as the "Fido Dido

Range".

The second applicant is the world wide licensing representative of the first applicant and has power to appoint licensing agents and licensees to reproduce the characters and designs referred to. Pursuant to such powers the second applicant has appointed a licensing agent in Australia, the local company, Gaffney International Licensing Pty. Limited,

(G.1I.L.) which has, in turn, licensed certain clothing manufacturing organisations in Australia to produce garments

bearing the Fido Dido range of characters upon then.

Royalties are paid to the first applicant under licensing agreements which are entered into by these licensed manufacturers. Under these agreements significant quality controls are imposed upon the manufacturers in relation to garments produced bearing the Fido Dido range of characters. These licensing arrangements are quite clearly typical of licensing arrangements regularly entered into in the world-wide business activity of character merchandising. Examples from the clothing industry referred to in the evidence are the licensing of garments bearing the La Coste and Pierre Cardin insignia. It