Trade mark decision

BL Number: O/047/02
Decision date: 1 February 2002
Hearing Officer: Mr M Foley
Mark: DARIGARD
Classes: 31
Registered Proprietor: Tangerine Holdings Ltd
Applicants for Declaration of Invalidity: Smarte Immunosystems Ltd
Application for Invalidation: Section 47 & Section 3(6)

Result

Section 47 - Application for invalidation (Section 3(6)) failed.

Points Of Interest

1. "If the marks are not at the very least similar, .... no foundation for the claim of bad faith"

Summary

The applicants contended that the predecessor of Tangerine Holdings Ltd had been their agent in the UK for various products, including one sold elsewhere under the mark DAIRY GUARD, and his application to register a similar mark had been made in bad faith. The Hearing officer, however, found that the marks were not similar, and consequently he could not see how there could be a finding of bad faith.

In case he should be found wrong in this, however, he went on to consider the matter of proprietorship. In this he could not find from the evidence that the applicants had established proprietorship of the mark DAIRY GUARD in the UK.

Full decision O/047/02 26Kb