Australian court provides guidance on packaging copyright in Aldi appeal

The Full Federal Court of Australia has issued an appeal decision regarding copyright infringement in product packaging in the case of Aldi Foods Pty Limited v Hampden Holdings IP Pty Limited. The dispute centered on whether Aldi’s MAMIA brand baby and child food products infringed upon the copyright of Hampden’s BABY BELLIES, LITTLE BELLIES, and MIGHTY BELLIES brands.

The appeal addressed whether Aldi’s packaging reproduced a ‘substantial part’ of Hampden’s works. The Full Court found that the previous trial judge erred by using a method of abstracting specific design elements to determine infringement. Instead, the Court emphasized that a detailed side-by-side analysis of each work is required, considering all similarities and differences.

The ruling clarified that making changes to a design does not automatically protect an infringer from a finding of infringement once sufficient similarities are identified. The Court also noted that the originality of the part taken and the skill and labor applied to the expression of the work are relevant factors in determining substantial reproduction.