Coal

AGL vs Greenpeace: Legal showdown starts over logo use in environmental campaigns

Published by

Australia’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter and one of Australia’s largest environmental advocacy groups have gone head-to-head in court on Wednesday in a legal battle that could have a significant impact on campaigns against Australia’s largest fossil fuel users.

The legal battle concerns the use of AGL Energy logos by Greenpeace Australia in a campaign that sought to highlight the fact that AGL Energy is Australia’s single largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions.

Last month, Greenpeace launched a campaign that included advertisements and a dedicated website that labelled AGL Energy as “Australia’s Greatest Liability” – a pun on the AGL acronym – and which used AGL’s logos and replicated the energy company’s branding style.

Greenpeace argues that the campaign is justified as AGL Energy is by far Australia’s largest single emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. In the last financial year, AGL was responsible for more than 42 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from the company’s fleet of coal fired generators, including Bayswater, Liddell and Loy Yang A.

AGL Energy has set itself a target of reaching zero net emissions by 2050 and is planning to spin-off its fossil fuel generators into a separate business as part of a planned demerger of the company announced earlier this year.

AGL commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court to seek to prevent Greenpeace from using its branding, arguing that doing so was a breach of intellectual property right laws, and AGL had a right to protect its own logos and branding style.

AGL had sought an urgent court order in May to immediately prevent Greenpeace Australia from continuing to use AGL’s logos in its campaign, but the federal court declined to grant the injunction. The proceedings continued in front of federal court justice Burley on Wednesday.

Greenpeace argued that the use of AGL’s logo and branding style was allowable under fair-dealing provisions under copyright laws, including those relating to parody, and that the use of company branding in advocacy campaigns is an important aspect of freedom of speech, and that could provide an opportunity to provide campaigning groups with a greater ability to use company logos in advocacy campaigns.

Greenpeace Australia campaigner Glenn Walker told the court on Wednesday that the group had sought to use the campaign to pressure AGL to change its business practises, and that its ‘parody’ of the AGL logo was a legitimate tactic used by campaigners, through a practice known as ‘brand jamming’, to encourage AGL customers to call on the company to close its coal-fired power stations.

Walker conceded that the campaign would work to make the AGL brand “toxic”, but said that any such negative impact would be temporary, as AGL had the ability to remediate its brand, by undertaking changes to its business that reduced its fossil fuel consumption.

Greenpeace has sought to frame AGL’s legal proceedings as an attempt to limit the ability of advocacy groups to run campaigns against fossil fuel companies and compared AGL Energy’s legal action to a ‘strategic lawsuit against public participation’, otherwise known as a SLAPP suit.

“Freedom of speech is a fundamental component of any functioning democracy. In Australia there are ‘fair dealing’ exceptions to copyright in order to allow satire, parody and criticism”, Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s General Counsel Katrina Bullock said.

“If Greenpeace Australia Pacific successfully defends this legal attack, it could set a powerful precedent about how the ‘fair dealing’ exception is applied by the courts which will hopefully allow other charities, not for profits, comedians and members of the community to criticise, parody and satirise without fearing litigation,” Bullock added.

Counsel for AGL Energy told the court on Wednesday that the company was not seeking to stymie public debate but that it was taking legitimate action to protect its own intellectual property.

But during the hearings on Wednesday, counsel for AGL sought to challenge Greenpeace’s contention that the campaign amounted to parody, and suggested that the campaign had been designed to damage AGL’s business, including by prompting customers to switch to a different energy company.

Update: At the conclusion of the hearing on Wednesday evening, Federal Court Justice Burley declined to issue extemporaneous orders – orders made on the spot – but told parties he would endeavour to deliver a quick judgement to parties.

Michael Mazengarb is a Sydney-based reporter with RenewEconomy, writing on climate change, clean energy, electric vehicles and politics. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade.
Michael Mazengarb

Michael Mazengarb is a Sydney-based reporter with RenewEconomy, writing on climate change, clean energy, electric vehicles and politics. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in climate and energy policy for more than a decade.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

Hydro Tasmania on the hunt for a new CEO amid political and renewable turmoil

Tasmanian utility begins hunt for new CEO, following the news that current chief will step…

28 March 2024

Capacity Investment Scheme needs to set high bar for communities hosting renewables

Without exception, the CIS should encourage projects that do good community engagement, with good environmental…

28 March 2024

Australia’s biggest coal generator teams up with SunDrive to make solar at Liddell

AGL signs MoU with Cannon-Brookes backed PV innovator SunDrive to explore "first of its kind"…

28 March 2024

Solar ducks and big batteries: How Alice Springs grid could run five hours a day with no fossil fuels

Alice Springs may be able to run on 100 pct renewables for an average five…

28 March 2024

“Unconscionable:” Eraring delay could cost $150m a year, adding to massive Origin windfall, report says

New analysis says the potential taxpayer cost of keeping Eraring open for another few years…

28 March 2024

Solar Sunshot: Albanese pledges $1bn to take Australia from “pit to panel”

Federal Labor puts its money on Australian made solar, pledging $1bn to kickstart the supply…

27 March 2024