Fine Lines Extraordinary Apparel Pty Limited v Gazal Apparel Pty Limited

Fine Lines Extraordinary Apparel Pty Limited (Fine Lines) and Gazal Apparel Pty Limited (Gazal) were parties to litigation before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned allegations by Fine Lines that Gazal had infringed its registered trade mark, "FINE LINES", used in relation to clothing. Fine Lines sought an injunction to restrain Gazal from using the mark "FINE LINES" on its own apparel products.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether Gazal's use of the mark "FINE LINES" on its clothing constituted a contravention of section 120(1) of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth). This required the Court to determine if Gazal's mark was "substantially identical" or "deceptively similar" to Fine Lines' registered trade mark, and if so, whether Gazal's use was in relation to goods or services for which the trade mark was registered.

Justice Vija Zars found that the marks were not substantially identical. However, applying the principles of deceptive similarity, the Court considered the visual and aural resemblance between the marks, as well as the conceptual similarities and the nature of the goods. The Court concluded that there was a real chance that consumers would be confused as to the origin of the goods, leading to a finding of deceptive similarity. Consequently, Gazal's use of the mark was found to infringe Fine Lines' registered trade mark.