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Pacific Dunlop Ltd. v. Hogan

Federal Court of Australia
[1989] FCA 185, 23 F.C.R. 553, 87 A.L.R. 14 (1989)

Written by Sarah Holley, JD

Facts

Paul Hogan (plaintiff) co-wrote and performed in the title role of Mick Dundee in the successful film Crocodile Dundee. The film featured a scene in which Dundee and a female companion were walking down the street and Dundee fended off a group of muggers with a knife. Pacific Dunlop Ltd. (Pacific) (defendant) manufactured Grosby “Leatherz” shoes. Pacific launched an advertising campaign for the shoes, using both posters and a television commercial, that mirrored the famous knife scene from the film, with the shoes being the instruments used to fend off the muggers instead of a knife. Although the character in the advertisement was not Hogan himself, he wore clothing similar to what Hogan wore in the film. Hogan brought a claim of passing off against Pacific, arguing that use of the knife scene from the film in Pacific’s advertisement misrepresented a commercial association or endorsement with Hogan as Crocodile Dundee. The lower court agreed and restrained Pacific from further dissemination of the advertisement. Pacific appealed.

Rule of Law

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Holding and Reasoning (Beaumont, J.)

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