Pharmacy Daily | CWH loses brand appeal

CHEMIST Warehouse has lost a court case in which it was appealing a previous decision about trade mark and branding infringement by rival Direct Chemist Outlet. Chemist Warehouse (CWH) owners Jack Verrocchi and Jack Gance lost the initial case earlier this year (PD 13 Jan 2016) but appealed the decision on the basis the judged had erred when finding there was “insufficient common identity or distinctiveness” in the Chemist Warehouse storefront ‘get-up’. Yesterday the panel of three judges in the Federal Court of Australia handed down the decision on the appeal, unanimously dismissing the CWH claim. The 33-page judgement agreed with the former ruling, finding that while Tauman had copied elements of the Chemist Warehouse get-up such as similar colours and the slogan ‘Who is Australia’s Cheapest Chemist’, “evidence of deliberate copying was not necessarily sufficient to attach liability”. Despite the copying, Direct Chemist Warehouse was found to have sufficiently distinguished itself by its own logo and signage. The court also ordered that Gance and Verrocchi pay the costs incurred by Direct Chemist Outlet and its owner Ian Tauman in fighting the appeal.

---

The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 17 Aug 16
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 17 Aug 16