Further Thoughts on Plain Packaging
Two further thoughts on Australia's plain packaging legislation occurred to me.
First, what if Australia had simply banned cigarettes? Are there differences in relation to trademark protection between (1) a product ban and (2) a narrower ban on using trademarks on the product?
Second, let's say Ukraine's WTO complaint gets rejected. What will the implications be for the Hong Kong-Australia BIT claim? Recall that in its BIT claim, Philip Morris argued in part: "[Plain Packaging] contravenes Australia's international obligations under TRIPS, the Paris Convention, and the TBT." What if there is a WTO DSB ruling that the plain packaging measures do not violate those obligations?