Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/069/02

Decision date

30 January 2002

Appointed Person

Mr David Kitchin QC

Mark

DONUTS & COMPANY

Classes

30, 32, 42

Applicants/Respondents

Donuts & Company Limited

Opponents/Appellants

Dunkin’ Donuts Inc

Appeal to the Appointed Person against the decision of the Registrar’s Hearing Officer in Opposition proceedings (SRIS O/233/01)

Result

Appeal dismissed.

Points Of Interest

• 1. "The mere fact that the mark of an applicant bears some similarities to the mark of an opponent cannot, without more, amount to bad faith"

Summary

The opponents contended that the application should have been refused under Sections 3(6) and 5(4)(a). The Appointed Person, however, found no fault in the Hearing Officer’s decisions on these two points and dismissed the appeal. In doing so he endorsed the Hearing Officer’s remarks concerning the tendency of opponents to lower the requirement for a likelihood of confusion under Section 5(2) or 5(4)(a) by basing their case on the alternative ground that the applicants’ mark must have been adopted in bad faith because it is similar to the opponents’ mark.

Full decision O/069/02 42Kb