Winnebago Industries, Inc v Knott Investments Pty Ltd (No 2) [2012] FCA 785

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Winnebago Industries, Inc v Knott Investments Pty Ltd (No 2) [2012] FCA 785 Citation: Winnebago Industries, Inc v Knott Investments Pty Ltd (No 2) [2012] FCA 785

Parties: WINNEBAGO INDUSTRIES, INC v KNOTT INVESTMENTS PTY LTD (ACN 000 596 798), AUSTRALIAN MOTOR HOMES PTY LTD (ACN 073 625 868), COUNTRY MOTOR COMPANY PTY LTD (ACN 002 189 228), SYDNEY CAMPERVAN & MOTORHOME RV CENTRE PTY LTD (ACN 112 316 560), WODONGA CAR WORLD PTY LTD (ACN 100 119 588), GEELONGWIN PTY LTD (ACN 121 112 392), HYDEN COVE PTY LTD (ACN 051 539 069), BRISBANE RV'S CARAVANS AND CAMPERS PTY LTD (ACN 102 806 520), BOLNIP PTY LTD (ACN 093 448 812), PARKLAND 1998 PTY LTD (ACN 081 503 184), WINNEBAGO ADELAIDE PTY LTD (ACN 141 042 480) and A & K CARAVANS AND MOTOR HOMES PTY LTD (ACN 100 888 748)

File number: NSD 1355 of 2010

Judge: FOSTER J

Date of judgment: 25 July 2012

Catchwords: TRADE AND COMMERCE – passing off – misleading and deceptive conduct – false representations – whether the reputation and goodwill of the applicant in the Australian market as at the commencement of the respondents' infringing conduct was proven to be sufficiently substantial to support non-pecuniary relief (including injunctive relief) for passing off and contraventions of ss 52, 53(c) and 53(d) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and ss 18, 29(1)(g) and 29(1)(h) of the Australian Consumer Law – whether delay and other allegedly disentitling conduct on the part of the applicant should lead to the withholding of relief on discretionary grounds – whether the applicant is estopped from seeking the relief claimed in the present case – whether the respondents infringed the applicant's copyright in a name and certain logos – whether a trade mark in the form of one of the applicant's trade marks registered in the name of the first respondent should be cancelled