I was taken aback to read a submission advanced by Pharmazen in Pharmazen Ltd v Anagenix IP Ltd [2020] NZCA 3016, namely that actual market use and conditions should be relevant to the assessment of confusion and deception under s 25(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 2002 as well as to the assessment of confusion and deception under s 17(1)(a) . Such a bold submission! And what would the consequences...
Applications for non-use are all about making sure that the owner has crossed every t and dotted every i. The owner’s evidence is put under the microscope. Has it shown evidence of use that relates unequivocally to the right period? The right jurisdiction? The right goods and services? Is the mark used in the same form as the mark that is on the register? And...
I promise that I am not just being obsequious when I say that I was extremely impressed by the Court of Appeal decision in International Consolidated Business Pty Ltd v S C Johnson & Son Inc [2019] NZCA 61, which was issued in March this year. It is great to see a tricky and important area of trade mark law heading in a sensible direction. The decision of the Court was delivered by Brown J...
