Specsavers Pty Ltd v The Optical Superstore Pty Ltd (No 3)

Specsavers Pty Ltd took action against The Optical Superstore Pty Ltd in the Federal Court of Australia, seeking relief from the broadcast of certain television commercials by the respondents and claiming damages for losses allegedly incurred as a result. The case centred around the advertising campaigns of both companies, with Specsavers asserting that The Optical Superstore's commercials were misleading and in breach of certain provisions of the Trade Practices Act. Specsavers sought an interlocutory injunction to prevent the broadcast of these commercials and damages for the loss of profits due to the alleged misleading advertising.

The court was tasked with determining whether The Optical Superstore's advertising campaigns were indeed misleading and if Specsavers was entitled to an interlocutory injunction to prevent further broadcast. Additionally, the court had to assess the damages claimed by Specsavers for the loss of profits due to the alleged misleading advertising. The court considered the evidence presented by both parties and the likelihood of Specsavers' customers being swayed by The Optical Superstore's advertising.

The court found that The Optical Superstore's advertising campaigns were not misleading and dismissed Specsavers' claim for an interlocutory injunction. The court also found that The Optical Superstore would have run the advertising campaign for no more than two to three weeks after the injunction, and certainly not for as long as four months as claimed. The court concluded that the loss of profits claimed by Specsavers was not foreseeable at the time of the order and that the evidence provided by The Optical Superstore in relation to the duration of their advertising campaigns was unreliable. As a result, the court awarded partial costs to Specsavers, ordering The Optical Superstore to pay 30% of Specsavers' costs incurred in the first part of the proceeding, while Specsavers would pay 70% of The Optical Superstore's costs.