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United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office Decisions >> TRUSSLOFT (Trade Mark: Invalidity) [2008] UKIntelP o17708 (26 June 2008)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKIntelP/2008/o17708.html
Cite as: [2008] UKIntelP o17708
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TRUSSLOFT (Trade Mark: Invalidity) [2008] UKIntelP o17708 (26 June 2008)
For the whole decision click here: o17708
Trade mark decision
- BL Number
- O/177/08
- Decision date
- 26 June 2008
- Hearing officer
- Mr D Landau
- Mark
- TRUSSLOFT
- Classes
- 37
- Registered Proprietor
- Timothy Benson
- Applicants for a declaration of invalidity
- Top-Storey Loft Conversions NE (Ltd)
- Application for Invalidation
- Section 47(1) (citing Sections 3(1)(b), 3(1)(c) & 3(1)(d)
Result
Application for invalidity, Section 47(1) (citing Sections 3(1)(b), (c) & (d) successful.
Points Of Interest
- Evidence relating to use after the date of application; instructive as to how the term is viewed; also relevant to the issue of forseeability in relation to use of the term.
Summary
The applicants, having been threatened with infringement proceedings, applied for invalidation of the mark on the grounds that it was a generic term which should be free for the use of everyone in the loft conversion trade.
The Hearing Officer noted that much of the evidence, from both sides, related to matter post-dating the application date, but decided not to ‘shut it out’ on that account as it was instructive of how the term was viewed.
After a detailed review of the evidence and the arguments the Hearing Officer concluded that the term ‘truss loft’ was indeed a generic term, customary in the current language of the trade and had not acquired a distinctive character from the use which had been made of it.
The application for invalidation therefore succeeded under all the grounds on which it had been brought. He reserved his decision on costs pending further submissions.