About Gabriel
Gabriel Sakkal is a partner in Arnold Bloch Leibler’s competition and intellectual property practices.
Gabriel deals regularly with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and works with clients across a broad range of industries on competition, consumer and intellectual property matters and disputes.
He is recognised as a leading lawyer by an international guide to lawyers and law firms Legal 500 Asia Pacific for competition & trade and intellectual property.
Gabriel joined the firm as a graduate in 2014 and was appointed as a partner in 2023. He graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Laws (with First Class Honours) in 2013.
“Gabriel is a very able, thoughtful and proactive practitioner, who has always displayed a sophisticated and keen understanding of legal issues and most importantly the needs and interests of his client.”
Practice focus
Gabriel’s practice focuses on the following areas:
- competition and consumer law, including mergers and acquisitions, cartel and other anti-competitive conduct, misleading or deceptive conduct, unfair and unconscionable business practices, consumer protection, product liability and recalls, product warranties and the development of compliance programmes
- intellectual property disputes, including patents, copyright and trade marks
- media, advertising and brand protection, and
- contractual disputes.
Experience
Gabriel acts for clients in a wide variety of matters, including:
Competition and consumer law
- Kogan: in Federal Court proceedings commenced by the ACCC alleging that Kogan made false or misleading representations as to the price of its goods during an online promotion
- Dial-a-Dump Industries: in a successful application for merger clearance by the ACCC of Bingo Industries’ $577.5 million acquisition of Dial-a-Dump
- Melbourne Airport: in relation to a number of disputes and regulatory issues regarding the terms upon which competing airlines are able to use the airport’s facilities
- Australian Sustainable Hardwoods: in a major dispute with the State Government of Victoria alleging misleading and deceptive conduct and breach of contractual warranties relating to timber grade quality and volumes of delivery. The dispute was referred to an arbitration, heard before a former justice of the High Court of Australia
- Maso Capital: a Hong Kong-based hedge fund, in relation to Nutrien’s acquisition of Ruralco and the merger between Vodafone and TPG
- Australian Constructors Association: whose member companies collectively generate a combined annual revenue in excess of $50 billion, regarding a range of competition law matters, including in making submissions on industry-wide issues
- ReadCloud: a publicly-listed provider of eLearning solutions, in its dispute with major international textbook publishers concerning allegations that the publishers entered into a cartel and secondary boycott arrangement with the purpose of preventing the acquisition of ReadCloud’s products by secondary schools
- Praeco: in its dispute with the Commonwealth Department of Defence and Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of CIMIC Group Ltd) in relation to substantial warranty claims for alleged defects in the construction of the Department of Defence’s new Headquarters Joint Operations Command facility
- Breville: in relation to disputes with competitors alleging misleading and deceptive product performance claims
- Nufarm: in relation to a dispute with a major supplier concerning misleading order forecasts, and
- A major supplier of health and organic products to a major supermarket chain: in relation to alleged misuse of market power and unconscionable conduct, including by forcing suppliers to agree to disadvantageous terms of trade, unilaterally deducting amounts from payments due to suppliers, and refusing to allow suppliers to increase prices.
Intellectual property, advertising and brand protection
- Namatjira Legacy Trust: in the successful resolution of Australia’s longest-running intellectual property dispute concerning the ownership of the copyright in the lifetime works of Australia’s most iconic Indigenous artist, Albert Namatjira. In 1983, the Namatjira copyright was sold by the Northern Territory Government to Legend Press for $8,500, without properly consulting with the Namatjira family. The outcome involved successfully negotiating the transfer of the copyright back to the Namatjira Legacy Trust, which represents the Namatjira family, as well as obtaining a historic compensation package from the Northern Territory Government for the benefit of the Western Aranda Indigenous community
- Palla Pharma: in Federal Court proceedings involving allegations that Palla Pharma infringed Tasmanian Alkaloid’s patent for a high codeine poppy variety. Palla Pharma cross-claimed for invalidity of the patent. The proceeding involved novel legal and evidentiary issues concerning the patentability of plant based material
- Probiotec: in relation to various agreements, including sponsorship, licensing and intellectual property agreements
- Just Group: in relation to misleading and deceptive conduct and intellectual property claims brought by and against Just Group’s retail subsidiaries, including Just Jeans, Smiggle, Peter Alexander and Dotti
- Cygnett: one of the world’s largest retailers of consumer electronic goods, in relation to a number of trade mark disputes and a patent dispute concerning the design of a “bendable” tablet case
- Industry Super Network and Industry Funds Management: in developing nationwide television and print advertising campaigns, and
- Industry Super Australia: in a copyright dispute with a high-profile artist concerning the use of his works in an online and television advertising campaign.
Awards & recognition
Gabriel is recognised as a leading lawyer by an international guide to lawyers and law firms:
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific: competition & trade and intellectual property.
