Embertec Pty Ltd v Energy Efficient Technologies Pty Ltd: Patents and Innovation

The Federal Court has refused an injunction to restrict competitive trade in the case of Embertec Pty Limited v Energy Efficient Technologies Pty Limited [2013] FCA 2.

Embertech, a powerboard manufacturer and importer, sued a competitor, EEtech (another powerboard manufacturer, however confined solely to Victoria) for misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law as well as infringements of Embertech's copyright, trademarks and patents.

The court reasoned that on the balance of convenience, the true status quo would be preserved if the injunctions requested by Emebertech were refused. Due to the limited nature of the specific market in which both parties were operating (due to a pending patent, the court reasoned this was approximately 9-10 months and EEtech had already been heavily active for the last 7 months in the market) and also the monetary gains to be had by Embertech when its patent application and validity was determined, all applications for interlocutory and injunctive relief were refused.

This seems to be an interesting statement case where the court has considered market and other overriding factors as determinants for competition and intellectual property infringement in business.

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