Chris De Lorenzo v Deva Concepts LLC

In the Federal Court of Australia, Justice Nicole Worth considered a dispute between Chris De Lorenzo (the applicant) and Deva Concepts LLC (the respondent). The core of the disagreement concerned the respondent's alleged infringement of the applicant's trade mark. The applicant sought interlocutory relief to restrain the respondent from continuing the alleged infringement.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had established a sufficient likelihood of success in their claim for trade mark infringement to warrant the grant of an interlocutory injunction. This required the Court to assess whether the respondent's use of its mark was likely to cause confusion among consumers as to the origin of the goods or services, thereby infringing the applicant's registered trade mark.

Justice Worth applied the well-established principles governing the grant of interlocutory injunctions, including the need to demonstrate a serious question to be tried and that damages would not be an adequate remedy. The Court considered the degree of similarity between the respective marks, the nature of the goods or services offered, and the likely perception of the relevant consumer. The Court found that the applicant had not discharged the onus of demonstrating a sufficient likelihood of success at trial to justify the grant of interlocutory relief.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the application for an interlocutory injunction be dismissed.