Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/247/02

Decision date

18 June 2002

Hearing Officer

Mr M Foley

Mark

COLOURS

Classes

09, 16, 18, 41, 42

Applicants

The London Tobacco Company Limited

Opponents

Benetton Group SpA

Opposition

Sections 5(2)(b); 5(3) & 5(4)(a)*

Result

Section 5(2)(b) - Opposition partially successful

Section 5(3) - Opposition failed

Section 5(4)(a) - Opposition failed

Points Of Interest

• 1. Effect of disclaimers.

Summary

A large number of COLORS marks were cited by the opponents but most of these were discounted by the Hearing Officer as they had disclaimers of the word COLORS. One registration, however, succeeded under Section 5(2)(b) in respect of some of the goods in Class 9 and all the goods in the Class 18 specification. Under Section 5(3) the Hearing Officer could not find anything that established the opponents’ claims to reputation in the mark COLORS, solus, and that ground failed. The same defect decided the matter under Section 5(4)(a) also.

In the result the application was permitted to proceed subject to the deletion of the Class 18 goods and some of the goods in Class 9.

Full decision O/247/02 62Kb