Allergy Standards Limited

Allergy Standards Limited (ASL) brought proceedings against Allergy & Asthma Research Centre Pty Ltd (AARC) and its director, Dr. Robert Loblay, in the Federal Court of Australia. ASL alleged that AARC and Dr. Loblay had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and had infringed ASL's trade mark. ASL sought an injunction and damages.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether AARC and Dr. Loblay had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by representing that certain products were "certified" by ASL when they were not, and whether this conduct had caused damage to ASL's business and reputation. The court also considered whether the use of the term "certified" by AARC and Dr. Loblay constituted trade mark infringement of ASL's registered trade mark.

Justice Debrett Lyons found that AARC and Dr. Loblay had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by representing that products were certified by ASL when they had not been. The court determined that ASL's certification process was a valuable asset and that the unauthorised use of the term "certified" in relation to products not meeting ASL's standards was likely to deceive consumers and damage ASL's reputation and goodwill. The court also found that this conduct constituted trade mark infringement.

The court ordered that AARC and Dr. Loblay be permanently restrained from using the word "certified" in relation to any product or service unless that product or service has been certified by ASL in accordance with its certification program. The court also ordered that AARC and Dr. Loblay pay damages to ASL, with the quantum of damages to be determined at a later stage.