Austbar Pty Ltd v ABA Australian Bar Association Limited

Austbar Pty Ltd (the Opponent) brought opposition proceedings against two trade mark applications filed by ABA Australian Bar Association Limited (the Applicant). The dispute concerned the Applicant's proposed use of the trade marks "AUSTBAR" and "AUST BAR" in relation to legal services. The proceedings were heard jointly by the Federal Court of Australia.

The court was required to determine whether the Applicant's proposed trade marks were likely to deceive or cause confusion under section 60 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth), and whether the Applicant's use of the marks would be contrary to law under section 52 of the Act. A key issue was the standing of the Opponent to bring the opposition, given that the entity initially holding the rights, Australasian Barristers Chambers Pty Ltd, had been ordered to be wound up in insolvency.

The court considered the evidence filed by both parties, including declarations from their representatives. It noted that the relevant dates for assessing the grounds under section 52 were the filing dates of the opposed applications, and for section 60, the priority dates, which were the same. The court acknowledged that the original entity, Australasian Barristers Chambers Pty Ltd, had assigned its rights and interests in the opposition to Austbar Pty Ltd prior to the filing dates of the applications. This assignment was made pursuant to section 53 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* and regulation 5.11 of the *Trade Marks Regulations 1995*, allowing for the amendment of the notice of intention to oppose to reflect the new opponent.