Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/071/04

Decision date

19 March 2004

Hearing Officer

Mr M Foley

Mark

WALKERLAND

Classes

09, 25

Registered Proprietor

Joseph Yu

Applicants for a declaration of invalidity

Liaoning Light Industrial Products Import & Export Corporation

Application for Invalidation

Sections 47(1) (citing Sections 3(6)) & 47(2) (citing Section 5(4)(a)).

Result

Section 47(1) citing Section 3(6) - Application for invalidation successful.

Section 47(2) citing Section 5(4)(a) - No formal finding.

Points Of Interest

• 1. Bad faith.

Summary

The applicants claimed that the mark WALKERLAND was theirs and had been registered in the name of their UK distributors, Walkerland International Limited (WIL), and subsequently assigned to Mr Yu, the present registered proprietor. Walkerland International Limited knew that the mark was not theirs when they applied for registration.

There was some dispute over the evidence supporting the first use of the mark, in China, by the present applicants. The Hearing Officer, however, accepted that the applicants had used the mark since 1994, albeit in China.

After a lengthy and detailed examination of the evidence, the Hearing Officer eventually concluded that the mark belonged to the applicants and in seeking to have it registered and assigned to himself the registered proprietor had acted in bad faith.

The Action under Section 3(6) succeeded accordingly.

The Hearing Officer did not go on to make a formal finding under Section 5(4)(a), beyond remarking that the applicants would probably have succeeded under that Section also.

Full decision O/071/04 74Kb