Login
iscover
The Federal Court of Australia ruled against The Agency in its intellectual property action, claiming that a North Shore firm infringed upon its rights with its brand, The North Agency.
The national brand brought action against H.A.S. Real Estate Pty Ltd, the registered owner of the office that began trading as The North Agency in March 2023. Owners Chris Aldren and Tulo Sila, both born-and-bred locals of the area, had funding help from UrbanX in pursuing their legal fight. The independent agency support system had in fact designed the marketing concepts in question as part of a partnership that saw the real estate office harness their backend support.
Up for debate was the new firm’s logo, branding and collateral, which The Agency claimed closely mirrored their own. In court documents, the nationwide brand alleged that such similarities effectively implied that the Sydney business had the sponsorship or approval of The Agency, even going so far as to say they were trying to pass off their business as part of the larger network.
Presiding over the proceedings, the Honourable Justice Jackman ruled that the North Agency had not infringed on The Agency’s trademarks.
Speaking after the ruling, Dan Argent, CEO of UrbanX, said that the ruling should come as a relief to any real estate professional looking to use the word “agency” in their operation.
Indeed, the ruling spoke to the language in question in the case, stating “it is relevant to take into account that the words ‘The Agency’ on their own have a strongly descriptive element in referring to the nature of a real estate business. The ordinary consumer would expect the word ‘agency’ to be commonly used in the names of real estate businesses in Australia. It would give an unwarranted monopoly to The Agency Group if rival businesses were unable to use the definite article ‘The’ and the word ‘Agency’ in their business names”.
Mr Argent described the outcome of the case as “a win for all,” noting that he hoped the action would deter other large-scale firms from coming after smaller ventures.
“The Agency simply chose the wrong people to fight this time around,” he said.
“The North Agency operates in a very specific area in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Chris and Tulo are self-branded operators — a couple of local dads — who wanted to have a go at starting their own business,” he added.
The court heard that at no point during the process of establishing their business name did the duo reference or make any connection between their firm and The Agency. Rather, they settled on the name because they wanted to reflect their connections to the local community and area, as they had both grown up and worked in the Northern Beaches. Mr Sila added that in his experience, “north” is a word that comes up in real estate sales all the time, as many buyers want a property that faces north to get the natural light and sunshine.
Neither of the two business operators, Mr Sila or Mr Aldren, had ever worked for any firm associated with The Agency. Mr Aldren has worked in the real estate industry in the Northern Beaches region since 2006. Mr Sila has worked in real estate since 2007. Their firm currently has six employees, comprising three sales consultants, a property manager, a head of operations and an executive assistant.
The Agency’s managing director and CEO, Geoff Lucas, said the outcome was not what the business had hoped for.
“At The Agency, we are a national, premium brand that’s well-recognised across the country and we prioritise the protection of our intellectual property rights and [have] invested significant resources into building and maintaining our strong brand. Our trademark is a vital asset that represents the hard work, dedication, and performance of our 650 real estate professionals’ success,” Mr Lucas commented.
He said the ruling would not deter the brand from remaining focused on their mission to “raise the bar in real estate”.
“We will continue to explore all available options to protect our brand and ensure that our team of 650+ real estate professionals’ hard work is recognised and respected in the marketplace,” he added.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
Newsletter
