Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/455/01

Decision date

19 September 2001

Hearing officer

Mr Geoffrey Hobbs QC

Mark

BAT OUT OF HELL

Classes

09, 16, 25, 41

Applicant

Meat Loaf

Opponent

Nicholas Dynes Gracey

Opposition

Opposition deemed abandoned in error

Result

Proceedings remitted to the Registrar

Points Of Interest

• 1. Appeal from Hearing Officers decision of 16 October 2000 (BL O/390/00). See also Appointed Person’s Interim decision dated 11 May 2001 (BL O/231/01). See also Hearing Officer’s decision dated 15 February 2002 (BL O/077/02). Registered mark removed from the Register. Status amended to pending and opposition proceedings reinstated.
• 2. The opponent appealed and asked for a re-hearing to consider the matter of costs/compensation. Appeal refused (see BL O/398/02).

Summary

This was an appeal from the Hearing Officers decision of 16 October 2000 during which a request to reinstate an opposition deemed abandoned in error was refused. That refusal had been on the basis that the Registrar had no powers to rectify matters.

However, in the light of the Appointed Persons's decision in the Andreas Stihl AG & Co's application [2001] RPC 215 case and others it now seemed likely that the Registrar did indeed have powers to rectify procedural irregularities. That being the case the Appointed Person decided to remit the matter back to the Registrar for a fresh consideration of the matter. The now registered proprietors to be advised so that they could made submissions if they so wished.

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