Remington v Welsbach Light Company of Australasia

The plaintiffs, Welsbach Light Company of Australasia, brought an action against the defendants, Odin Leigh Remington and Joseph Allison Remington, trading as Newton's Electrical Stores, for infringement of trade mark and passing off. The dispute concerned the defendants' sale of electric lamps bearing the word "Australite" and a device similar to the plaintiffs' registered trade mark. The plaintiffs alleged that their gas burners, also marked with their trade mark and sold under the name "Australite," had become known to the public and the trade as their product. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria before Hood J., and subsequently appealed to the High Court of Australia.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the plaintiffs were entitled to an injunction restraining the defendants from selling their electric lamps, and whether they were entitled to damages awarded by the Supreme Court. Specifically, the court had to determine if the defendants' mark was likely to deceive purchasers into believing they were buying the plaintiffs' goods, and if there had been an infringement of the plaintiffs' trade mark.

The High Court, in its judgment delivered by Griffith C.J., found that the questions were primarily factual. The Court concluded that the evidence supported the Supreme Court's finding that the plaintiffs' "Australite" burners were known to the public and trade as their product, and that the defendants' mark was calculated to mislead. Consequently, the Court held that the plaintiffs were entitled to retain the injunction granted by the Supreme Court, which restrained the defendants from passing off their electric lamps as those of the plaintiffs. However, the Court found that the evidence did not support an award of damages.

Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed, and the judgment of the Supreme Court of Victoria was varied by omitting the award of damages. The appellants were ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.