Kerry Awerbuch

Practice Areas

Kerry is an experienced intellectual property lawyer, practising in trade mark, copyright, patent, design, confidential information, domain name and consumer law. She has broad litigation and advisory experience, working with clients across a range of sectors including fashion, health and wellness, fast moving consumer goods, medical technology, automotive and retail.

Kerry manages large trade mark portfolios for household names, overseeing prosecution in Australia and globally and advising clients on local and cross-border issues arising in relation to trade marks and related rights.

She also acts for clients across the full range of intellectual property, confidential information, consumer law and contractual disputes, as well as advising clients on strategies for capturing, protecting and driving the value in their intellectual property assets.

Her experience includes advising clients on intellectual property protection, management and ownership strategies in Australia and globally, enforcement of intellectual property rights and confidential information, domain name disputes, enforcement of rights in online marketplaces, drafting IP agreements (including patent, design, copyright and trade mark licences and assignments, collaboration agreements and technology transfer agreements), undertaking IP due diligence, prosecuting trade mark and design applications in Australia and overseas, providing freedom to operate advice, advising on off-patent protection strategies and providing advertising, marketing and product labelling advice.

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Professional Memberships

Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ)

Work Highlights

Copyright and trade mark disputes - Representing one of Australia’s largest retailers of fashion, accessories, footwear, stationery and gifts in all copyright and trade mark infringement disputes over the past six years, including various proceedings issued in the Federal Court of Australia.

Reputational rights disputes - Acting in trade mark infringement, passing off and misleading or deceptive conduct proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia for one of Australia’s largest retailers and distributors of automotive aftermarket parts and accessories.

Breach of confidence - Acting in breach of confidence and copyright infringement proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, including an application for urgent interlocutory relief, for a designer and manufacturer of 4x4 automotive aftermarket accessories.

Copyright and design overlap disputes - Acting in the successful defence of copyright infringement claims in the Federal Court and Full Federal Court of Australia concerning 'works of artistic craftsmanship' in both first instance and appeal proceedings.

Trade mark and design portfolios - Managing the global trade mark and design portfolios of well-known Australian and global brands, including one of the largest sexual health and wellness companies globally, one of Australia’s best known global fashion and accessories brands and an emerging global leader in skin care and sun protection.

Domain name disputes - Acting for various clients in domain name dispute proceedings under WIPO's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and auDA's .au Dispute Resolution Policy (auDRP) to successfully transfer domain names held by cyber squatters or third parties in bad faith.