Adidas International Marketing B.V. v Chen Yong Mei

Adidas International Marketing B.V. (Adidas) commenced proceedings against Chen Yong Mei (Chen) in the Federal Court of Australia, seeking to restrain Chen from infringing its registered trade mark 'ADIDAS' and passing off goods as being connected with Adidas. Adidas alleged that Chen was selling counterfeit goods bearing the ADIDAS trade mark.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether Chen had infringed Adidas's registered trade mark 'ADIDAS' under section 120 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth) and whether Chen had engaged in conduct that constituted passing off under the common law. Specifically, the Court was required to determine if Chen's use of the ADIDAS trade mark on goods was likely to deceive or cause confusion among consumers as to the origin or sponsorship of those goods.

Justice Irgang found that Chen had infringed Adidas's registered trade mark. The Court reasoned that the use of the ADIDAS mark on the goods sold by Chen was identical to the registered trade mark and that the goods were of the same description as those for which the trade mark was registered. Consequently, the Court concluded that the conditions for infringement under section 120(1) of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth) were met. Furthermore, the Court found that Chen's actions constituted passing off, as the use of the ADIDAS mark was likely to mislead consumers into believing that the goods were genuine Adidas products or were in some way associated with Adidas, thereby damaging Adidas's goodwill and reputation.

The Court ordered that Chen be permanently restrained from infringing Adidas's registered trade mark and from passing off goods as being connected with Adidas. The Court also ordered that Chen pay Adidas's costs of the proceeding.