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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 >> STAIGER (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2003] UKIntelP o40703 (17 December 2003) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2003/o40703.html Cite as: [2003] UKIntelP o40703 |
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For the whole decision click here: o40703
Result
Section 5(4)(a) - XTB’s opposition successful.
Points Of Interest
Summary
Rival applications for registration of the mark were filed on the same day. The matter was therefore essentially a dispute over the ownership of the common law rights in the mark and, in the rival allegations, the bad faith shown by the other side. The matter of estoppel was also raised.
In a preliminary matter an attempt by one party to claim priority for their application over that of the other by reason of the fact that theirs was filed some hours earlier was dismissed by the Hearing Officer. The 'date' of application was the significant factor, he ruled, not the time on that date.
Turning to the substantive issues the Hearing Officer dealt first with the matter under Section 5(4)(a). A detailed examination of the evidence persuaded him that XTB were the true owners of the mark. They therefore succeeded in their opposition to FIM’s application and their defence of their own application.
The Hearing Officer found no basis for the allegations of bad faith by either party.
Finally, the Hearing Officer rejected the claim of estoppel in pais; this issue could not have been argued without an amendment of the pleadings, it being a legal point of such importance as to be determinative of the outcome of the case. In any event, he found, it was not tenable.
