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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> BT FUTURETALK (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2001] UKIntelP o43301 (4 October 2001)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2001/o43301.html
Cite as: [2001] UKIntelP o43301
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BT FUTURETALK (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2001] UKIntelP o43301 (4 October 2001)
For the whole decision click here: o43301
Trade mark decision
- BL Number
- O/433/01
- Decision date
- 4 October 2001
- Hearing officer
- Mr M Reynolds
- Mark
- BT FUTURETALK
- Classes
- 09, 16, 35, 38, 41
- Applicant
- British Telecommunications Plc
- Opponents
- Orange Personal Communications Services Limited
- Opposition
- Section 3(1)(b); 3(1)(c); 5(2)(b) & 5(4)(a)
Result
Section 3(1)(b) - Opposition failed
Section 3(1)(c) - Opposition failed
Section 5(2)(b) - Opposition failed
Section 5(4)(a) - Opposition failed
Points Of Interest
- Practice in two letter marks.
Summary
Under Section 3 the opponents objected to the mark as being merely a two letter combination BT joined to the word FUTURETALK. Reviewing the matter in the light of the evidence and current practice however, the Hearing Officer concluded that there was nothing in the combination objectionable under Section 3. The Section 5(2) objections, originally based on a number of "TALK" and "FUTURE" marks, were finally confined to the opponents' CTM registration "FUTUREWORKS". Overall, the Hearing Officer found no likelihood of confusion between these marks.
The Section 5(4)(a) objection, however, was based on the opponents' reputation in a number of marks containing the words FUTURE and TALK. The Hearing Officer decided, however, that even if "goodwill" was conceded there would be no 'misrepresentation' or 'damage'.