Boost Mobile granted injunction against Optus using its brand name

Optus must remove the word ‘Boost’ from all of its branding and advertising, after Australian telco Boost Mobile won a court injunction against Optus using its brand name.

The decision comes after Optus launched two new products in February, ‘Internet Boost’ and ‘Mobile Boost’, which grant its customers the option to temporarily increase their internet speeds. 

Meanwhile, Boost Mobile is an Australian mobile virtual network operator, offering pre-paid access to the Telstra mobile network. At the time of Optus’ announcement, Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton labelled the move as a “deliberate attempt to trade off our valuable Boost brand and success”. 

“Just when I didn’t think Optus could embarrass themselves any further, they once again surprise us all,” Adderton said.

“Boost Mobile has not authorised Optus to use our Boost brand, and we are definitely not collaborating with Optus.”

At the time, an Optus spokesperson insisted that the telco “does not consider that any customer could confuse Boost Telecom with Optus”.

Boost no more: Optus cops injunction

Optus’ $5 ‘Internet Boost’ service allowed its NBN customers to increase their home broadband speeds for 24 hours. Meanwhile, ‘Mobile Boost’ allowed customers to “prioritise their mobile data connection to achieve better connectivity” for $2 for an hour.

Following a Federal Court interlocutory hearing, judge Tom Thawley granted an injunction, ordering Optus to temporarily stop the use of ‘Boost’ in its branding until a full hearing into the trademark dispute can be heard.

“We appreciate the judge respecting the urgency of this issue, forcing Optus to stop using our trademarked brand immediately, and appreciating how important our Brand is to Boost and our customers,” Adderton said in a statement to the media.

“I hope Optus is realising that this is not a fight worth fighting such that they agree to move on and find a new word to describe its products.”

A media release originally published on 22 February has since been removed from Optus’ website. However, it is still visible via an archived version of the page.

The decision continues Optus’ difficult run of late, including last year’s infamous data breach that had many Australians worried about the resulting security concerns.

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