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United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> PC CLEAR (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2002] UKIntelP o11102 (12 March 2002)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2002/o11102.html
Cite as: [2002] UKIntelP o11102
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PC CLEAR (Trade Mark: Opposition) [2002] UKIntelP o11102 (12 March 2002)
For the whole decision click here: o11102
Trade mark decision
- BL Number
- O/111/02
- Decision date
- 12 March 2002
- Hearing officer
- Mr G Salthouse
- Mark
- PC CLEAR
- Classes
- 32
- Applicant
- Silver Spring Mineral Water Company Limited
- Opponent
- Loblaw Companies Limited
- Opposition
- Sections 5(1); 5(2)(a) & 5(2)(b)* *Other grounds under Section 3 were withdrawn and a request to amend the pleadings to include Section 5(4) was refused at the hearing.
Result
Section 5(1): - Opposition failed.
Section 5(2)(a): - Opposition failed.
Section 5(2)(b): - Opposition failed.
Points Of Interest
- 1. "If use of a trade mark in ordinary letters does not constitute use of a stylised trade mark, then conversely use of a stylised trade mark does not constitute use of a trade mark registered in ordinary letters."
Summary
The opposition was based on four registrations of a device mark which, the opponents claimed, consisted of the letters PC in stylised form. The opposition under Section 5(1) and (5(2)(a) failed automatically as the marks were not identical.
Under Section 5(2)(b) the Hearing Officer thought that it was “far from certain that consumers would identify the letters “PC” in the mark”. Neither did he accept that the public would automatically see the word (clear) as a descriptor and not as part of the mark. With all the factors considered he did not conclude that there existed a likelihood of confusion.