Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, has warned souvenir producers and retailers to be careful about how they market Aboriginal-style souvenirs, such as souvenir boomerangs and didgeridoos, following orders made by Justice Cooper in the Federal Court Brisbane this week.
On Tuesday, proceedings against souvenir producer Australian Aboriginal Art Pty Ltd (AAA), and former directors Mr Henry de Jonge and Mr Bruce Read were settled pre-trial, with the parties consenting to the court orders.
Justice Cooper today gave default judgement against another company, Australian Icon Products Pty Ltd (In liquidation) (AIP), with which Mr de Jonge and Mr Read had also been associated.
AAA had represented variously on product stickers and labels, and on their website, that their hand-painted Aboriginal-style souvenirs were "Australian Aboriginal Art" and "authentic" Aboriginal art, produced by artists who were "Australian, Aboriginal by descent and Aboriginal".
The works were made by some artists who were of Aboriginal descent and some who were not. ACCC considered the representations misleading when referring to the work of non-Aboriginal artists.
AAA undertook to the ACCC in 2003 to send letters to retailers requesting they relabel AAA products. AAA also corrected its website but did not admit it had contravened the Act.
Before the conduct of AAA, AIP had made similar representations, and had also labelled its products as "certified authentic", without there being any certification process. AIP also engaged artists who were of Aboriginal descent and some who were not.
The court declared that, in the case of products painted by artists not of Aboriginal descent, such representations were likely to mislead or deceive consumers, in contravention of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Even though AIP was in liquidation, Justice Cooper decided to make the declarations against it to fairly reflect the totality of the conduct.
"Producers and retailers can avoid misleading consumers by using accurate and clear labels or store signage, and educating their staff, so that consumers can easily tell authentic Aboriginal work from non-authentic work", Mr Samuel said today.
"The ACCC is concerned that many consumers, especially overseas tourists, who want to buy authentic Aboriginal work, can be easily misled into buying something that is not. The ACCC urges consumers that, if authenticity is important to them, they carefully check labels and ask questions to ensure they get what they are paying for.
"The ACCC is also concerned that Aboriginal artists will lose income they might have earned if some producers and retailers are falsely presenting items as authentic. The ACCC is working with various groups to help educate the wider community about this issue and to encourage the public to report any suspected misleading conduct to the ACCC", Mr Samuel said.
The court also made orders, by consent, restraining AAA, Mr de Jonge and Mr Read from making similar representations in the future about their products unless the works were, to their knowledge, produced by persons of Aboriginal descent.
The court also ordered, by consent, that Mr de Jonge and Mr Read attend a trade practices compliance seminar and that the company and Mr de Jonge pay the ACCC's costs.