Trade mark decision

BL Number

O/080/05

Decision date

21 March 2005

Hearing officer

Mr Richard Arnold QC

Mark

MOVIE STAR

Classes

09

Applicant for Revocation

Apple Projects Ltd

Registered Proprietor

LookC Limited (formerly Applied Technologies Manufacturing Limited)

Revocation

Section 46(1)(b). Request for costs against the Registrar.

Result

Requests for costs against the Registrar - Request refused.

Points Of Interest

• 1. See Appointed Person's interim decision dated 11 November 2004 (BL O/348/04).

Summary

In his interim decision dated 11 November 2004 (BL O/348/04) the Appointed Person had stated, setting aside the Hearing Officer’s decision, that it had been irregularly made since the Hearing Officer had exercised the discretion under Rule 31(3) of the Trade Mark Rules 2000, adversely to the registered proprietor without giving the registered proprietor the opportunity to be heard as required by Rule 54. Subsequently, the registered proprietor sought an order for costs against the Registrar.

The background to the issue of the decision of the Hearing Officer was that the registered proprietor had not responded when a copy of the application for revocation was sent to it. Consequently, no counterstatement or evidence of use of its mark was filed by the registered proprietor. In his interim decision the Appointed Person considered that the most likely explanation for the failure to respond was that a card from the Royal Mail about a failed attempt to deliver the application by recorded delivery had been overlooked and/or become attached to other delivery items which had been disposed of. In the circumstances, of this case, the Appointed Person did not consider that it would be right to require the Registrar to pay the registered proprietor’s costs of the appeal.

In his earlier decision the Appointed Person had allowed the registered proprietor twenty-eight days to file the necessary documentation and evidence of use and it had now done so. The proceedings are therefore back on track.