For the whole decision click here: o07104
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
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.