To recap, what Reckitt Benckiser did between 2011 and 2015 was to sell the identical pain relief product - Nurofen - in 4 differently labelled packets, at almost twice the price of the standard Nurofen packet - see photo.
The Federal Court found that the labels were misleading. The four packets had labels which stated that they were targeted for different pain - one for Migraine Pain, one for Tension Headaches, one for Back Pain and one for Period Pain. In fact, each packet contained the same tablet, and could be taken to relieve any of the pains.
The trial judge fined Reckitt Benckiser $1.7 million which the appeal court increased to $6 million.
The question is - was the fine still too low considering that sales were about $45 million, with at least $20 million in profit? In other words, is a fine of $6 million high enough to discourage it hapening again, or is it too low and so will it be considered just the cost of doing business?
Belatedly, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which had asked for the $6 million fine agrees. It now proposes that fines based on profits derived from the offending conduct - as high as 3 times the profits.
Too late for the Nurofen case - the horse has bolted!