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United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> FORM ONLY MARK (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2002] UKIntelP o28502 (19 July 2002) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2002/o28502.html Cite as: [2002] UKIntelP o28502 |
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For the whole decision click here: o28502
Result
Section 3(1)(b): - Opposition successful.
Points Of Interest
Summary
The Hearing Officer wondered whether the public would see in the shape an indication of origin or merely the goods; being eye-catching or unusual or decorative was not enough. A priori, he decided, the mark was devoid of distinctive character, and he went on to see if it had become distinctive as a result of the use made of it.
In this, he decided, the relevant class of persons would be the type of people who order and buy wire fencing. There was some evidence of experts (both from trade associations), but no evidence from the relevant class. The Hearing Officer concluded that a distinctive character had not been acquired as a result of use, (although he rejected a submission that since such use as there had been, had the protection of a legal monopoly, a design right, it should therefore be discounted).
