Choice Hotels International Inc v Australian Consumers' Association

Choice Hotels International Inc and the Australian Consumers' Association were the parties in a dispute heard before the Federal Court of Australia. The core of the disagreement concerned the Australian Consumers' Association's use of the trade mark "Choice Hotels" in its comparative advertising campaign, which Choice Hotels International Inc alleged constituted trade mark infringement and misleading or deceptive conduct.

The Federal Court was required to determine whether the Australian Consumers' Association's use of the "Choice Hotels" trade mark in its comparative advertising was likely to deceive or cause confusion among consumers, thereby infringing Choice Hotels International Inc's registered trade mark. A further issue was whether such use constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of Australian consumer protection laws.

The Court considered the principles of trade mark infringement, focusing on the likelihood of confusion arising from the use of a mark. It also examined the provisions of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth)) concerning misleading or deceptive conduct. The Court's reasoning involved an assessment of the nature of the goods and services offered by both parties, the target audience of the advertising, and the overall impression created by the Australian Consumers' Association's campaign. The Court ultimately found that the use of the trade mark was not likely to deceive or cause confusion, and therefore did not constitute infringement or misleading conduct.