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United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> RUBY 'S (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2001] UKIntelP o44001 (9 October 2001)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2001/o44001.html
Cite as: [2001] UKIntelP o44001
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RUBY 'S (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2001] UKIntelP o44001 (9 October 2001)
For the whole decision click here: o44001
Trade mark decision
- BL Number
- O/440/01
- Decision date
- 9 October 2001
- Hearing officer
- Dr W J Trott
- Mark
- RUBY 'S
- Classes
- 42
- Applicant
- Ruby Tuesday Business Development Incorporated
- Opponent
- Angela & Mark McGinley
- Opposition
- Section 5(2)(b)
Result
Section 5(2)(b): - Opposition succeeded.
Points Of Interest
- None
Summary
The opponents owned the mark RUBY TUESDAY’S for restaurant services etc in Class 42. They filed evidence of use from 1990 in relation to three restaurants in Belfast and the Hearing Officer accepted that they had a local reputation but not a national one which they could pray in aid of their opposition. There was some evidence to show that in use their restaurants were referred to as RUBY’S
As the services at issue were identical the Hearing Officer compared the respective marks RUBY’S and RUBY TUESDAY’S. Visually and aurally the marks were different but they were similar conceptually in that both would be seen as female names. The Hearing Officer concluded that the applicants mark RUBY’S was predisposed to invade the distinctiveness of the opponents mark and as association could arise from conceptual similarity he concluded that there was a likelihood of confusion between the two marks. Opposition succeeded.