Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/023/04

Decision date

27 January 2004

Hearing Officer

Mr D Landau

Mark

F FOCUS

Classes

42

Applicant

Focus Business Solutions Limited

Opponent

Information Builders Inc

Opposition

Section 5(2)(b)

Result

Section 5(2)(b) - Opposition successful

Points Of Interest

• 1. Honest concurrent use: "the concept falls down when there has been no use of the other trade mark, or use only in relation to some of the goods/services for which it is registered."

Summary

The opposition was based on registrations of the mark FOCUS and device in Classes 9 and 42.

The Hearing Officer found the services to be identical or similar, the marks likewise (highly similar in fact). He therefore went on to consider the possible effect of the honest concurrent use shown by the applicants on the likelihood of confusion which he had found in the prima facie.

The use, however, had not been concurrent with that of the opponents since the latter had not yet been used in the UK.

In the result he found that the finding of a likelihood of confusion had not been displaced, and the opposition succeeded accordingly.

Full decision O/023/04 51Kb