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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. The South Australian Brewery Co. Ltd.

[1996] FCA 1484, 1996 WL 1745933 (1996)

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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. The South Australian Brewery Co. Ltd.

Australia Federal Court
[1996] FCA 1484, 1996 WL 1745933 (1996)

SH

Facts

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (Fox) (plaintiff) was the producer of the animated television series The Simpsons, and Matt Groening Productions Inc. (Groening) (plaintiff) (collectively, the producers) was the creator of the characters, stories, and titles of that series. Since 1991, The Simpsons had been regularly broadcast throughout Australia during prime time. Homer Simpson, one of the leading characters in the series, was an avid drinker of Duff Beer. Homer’s fondness of this beer was a distinct feature of his fictional persona, and Duff Beer appeared in almost all episodes of the series broadcast in Australia up to April 1996. In late 1995, the South Australian Brewing Co. Ltd. (defendant) and Lion Nathan Australia Pty. Ltd. (defendant) (collectively, the brewers) started to manufacture and sell a product called Duff Beer. Promotions for the product did not reference The Simpsons or any of its characters, but the can itself was almost identical to the fictional product. The producers brought suit against the brewers, arguing the brewers’ conduct amounted to passing off, and seeking to enjoin the brewers’ continued use of the Duff Beer name.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Tamberlin, J.)

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