The Federal Court recently imposed penalties of $2.7 million against two overseas companies, Yellow Page Marketing BV and Yellow Publishing Limited, after they sent thousands of Australian businesses misleading faxes and invoices in an attempt to obtain subscriptions to their online business directories.
These faxes and invoices contained the words ‘Yellow Page’ and a ‘Walking Fingers’ logo. The court found that by using the words and logo, the companies had misled thousands of businesses into thinking they were dealing with Sensis Pty Ltd Yellow Pages®. The court declared that the companies engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct as neither companies are in any way affiliated with Sensis Pty Ltd Yellow Pages®.