La Francaise d'Horlogerie v Krementz & Co

In *La Francaise d'Horlogerie v Krementz & Co*, the Supreme Court of New South Wales was asked to determine whether the defendant, Krementz & Co, had infringed the plaintiff's, La Francaise d'Horlogerie, registered trade mark for a watch movement. The dispute centred on the defendant's use of the mark "ETA" on its watch movements, which the plaintiff alleged was deceptively similar to its own registered mark.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the defendant's use of the mark "ETA" constituted an infringement of the plaintiff's registered trade mark under the relevant provisions of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth). This involved assessing the degree of visual and phonetic similarity between the marks, as well as considering the respective goods in respect of which the marks were used and the likelihood of deception or confusion among the relevant class of consumers.

Justice Sullivan found that the marks were not deceptively similar. Her Honour reasoned that while both marks were short and comprised of letters, the visual and phonetic differences were significant enough to distinguish them in the minds of consumers. Furthermore, the Court considered the context in which the marks were used, noting that the defendant's mark "ETA" was often accompanied by other branding and was applied to components rather than finished watches, which reduced the likelihood of confusion. The Court applied the principles of deceptive similarity as established in trade mark law, focusing on the overall impression of the marks and the potential for consumers to be misled into believing that the goods originated from the same source.

The Court ultimately dismissed the plaintiff's claim for trade mark infringement.