Unilever is a multinational company with a wide ranging portfolio of household brands with a strong focus on socially responsible personal care products. Some of its key brands in this area include Dove, OMO, Ponds, Lynx and Rexona.

THE PROJECT

It came to Unilever’s attention that a Sydney-based wholesaler was distributing counterfeit beauty cream bars bearing the Dove trade marks to a wide network of independent supermarkets and discount variety stores. The wholesaler denied any liability and refused to cooperate in removing the counterfeit products from the market.

The counterfeit products were poor quality soap bars that created a public health risk for consumers with skin conditions such as eczema.  They were also packaged in high quality boxes that looked almost exactly like Unilever’s packaging – thereby maximising consumer deception at the point of sale.

Actuate IP was engaged to assist Unilever in commencing trade mark infringement proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia’s fast track list against the wholesaler (and three of its retail customers) in order to obtain injunctions prohibiting the further sale of the counterfeit products.

THE ACTION AND OUTCOME

Unilever takes a zero tolerance stance against counterfeit products and the numerous public safety issues that inferior products of this nature can present and it employs a range of measures to tackle the problem, including litigation.

As part of this litigation, discovery orders were obtained from the court which required the wholesaler to provide information about its sales activities under the Dove trade mark.  After this information was obtained, settlement was subsequently reached after a mediation on commercially favourable terms.  These included the desired injunction, a declaration from the court confirming that the wholesaler had infringed Unilever’s registered trade marks and the wholesaler agreeing to pay Unilever a material sum in compensation.