Americana International Limited v Suyen Corporation

Americana International Limited (Americana) and Suyen Corporation (Suyen) were parties to proceedings before the Australian Trade Marks Office. The dispute concerned Americana's opposition to Suyen's trade mark application. Americana had filed petitions seeking a deferment of the hearing and a consolidation of actions.

The primary legal issue before the hearing officer was whether to grant Americana's petitions for deferment and consolidation. A secondary issue concerned the appropriate order for costs, given the outcome of the hearing on these preliminary matters.

The hearing officer determined that Americana had not fully laid out its evidence in accordance with the relevant Act and Regulations, and that the public interest required the opposition to be heard as soon as possible. Consequently, Americana's petition for deferment was implicitly refused. While Americana's submissions were directed towards consolidation, which they failed to achieve, the hearing officer noted that Americana was seeking deferment in any event due to its unpreparedness. The hearing officer ordered that the opposition be set down for hearing in Melbourne in the week commencing 17 September 2007.

Regarding costs, the hearing officer found that Americana had failed in its principal submissions concerning consolidation. Accordingly, an order was made that Suyen, the opponent, pay Americana's costs according to the official scale.