Brakes plus Pty Ltd v Midas International Corporation

In *Brakes Plus Pty Ltd v Midas International Corporation*, the Federal Court of Australia considered a dispute between Brakes Plus Pty Ltd (Brakes Plus) and Midas International Corporation (Midas). Brakes Plus sought to prevent Midas from using the trade mark "BRAKE PLUS" in relation to automotive repair services, alleging that this use infringed its registered trade mark "BRAKES PLUS" and constituted misleading and deceptive conduct under the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth)).

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether Midas's use of its trade mark was likely to cause confusion among consumers, thereby infringing Brakes Plus's registered trade mark, and whether Midas's conduct was misleading or deceptive in the relevant market. The Court was required to assess the degree of similarity between the two trade marks, the nature of the goods and services in question, and the likely perception of the ordinary consumer in the marketplace.

Justice Homann found that there was a significant degree of visual and phonetic similarity between the trade marks "BRAKES PLUS" and "BRAKE PLUS". Considering the services offered by both parties were in the automotive repair industry, and that consumers often make purchasing decisions based on brief exposure to trade marks, the Court concluded that there was a real likelihood of confusion. Consequently, the Court held that Midas's use of its trade mark infringed Brakes Plus's registered trade mark and also constituted misleading and deceptive conduct. The Court ordered that Midas be restrained from using the "BRAKE PLUS" trade mark in relation to automotive repair services.