Perth-based retailer Live Clothing is bracing for a David-and-Goliath trademark battle with US online retail giant Amazon over the use of the name "Glamazon".
Live Clothing has been the registered owner of the Glamazon trademark for clothing, footwear and headgear since 1999, but has recently applied to extend the trademark to a wider range of retail and wholesale services.
But documents lodged with IP Australia show the application has been opposed by Amazon Technologies, which owns the trademark for the name "Glamazon fashionweek".
Glamazon is also the name of an internal Amazon social group for LGBTIQ employees, promoting diversity in the workplace.
Amazon has been recruiting staff ahead of its expected entry into the Australian market later this year.
Live Clothing opened its first retail outlet in Perth's Murray Street Mall in 1994 and now has 13 stores across Western Australia and South Australia.
The company declined to comment on the trademark challenge.
"The outcome of the opposition proceedings is yet to be determined. Therefore it is not appropriate for IP Australia to comment at this time," a spokesperson for IP Australia said in a statement.
The ABC has contacted Amazon Australia for comment.
Amazon sending 'shiver of fear' down retailers' spines
Queensland University of Technology Professor Matthew Rimmer described the development as a "skirmish" and said it was a sign of things to come.
"Amazon has always been a very masterful and astute deployer of intellectual property in terms of its portfolio of trademarks and its patents in relation to information technology," Professor Rimmer said.
"I think it will be very challenging for some of the small players in Australia in terms of having the legal expertise and the resources and the access to justice to successfully take on such an impressive opponent."
"Let's be frank, Amazon has sent a shiver of fear down some quite large players like Coles and Woolworths and Bunnings, and players like JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman."
Western Australia's Small Business Commissioner, David Eaton, said it was not unusual for large companies to lodge trademark disputes against smaller operations in order to "clear the way" for their future business plans.
"Live Clothing have actually registered 'Glamazon' as a trademark with IP Australia, which means that they can have a far greater foundation for a dispute with Amazon," he said.
Mr Eaton said the increasingly global nature of retail meant it was important for small business operators to educate themselves about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to trademarks and intellectual property.
