Australian Trade Mark Application Nos. 1849841 LAW PARTNERS (Word) and 1849879 LAW PARTNERS (Stylised) in Class 45 in the name of Law Partners Compensation Lawyers Pty Ltd as trustee for the Law Partners Unit Trust

This matter concerned Australian Trade Mark Application Nos. 1849841 (Word) and 1849879 (Stylised), both in Class 45, filed by Law Partners Compensation Lawyers Pty Ltd as trustee for the Law Partners Unit Trust. The applications faced rejection under section 41 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth) on the ground that the marks were not inherently adapted to distinguish the designated services. The delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks heard the matter after the applicant requested to be heard, following several rounds of examination reports and replies.

The primary legal issue before the delegate was whether the trade marks, comprising the words "LAW PARTNERS" and a stylised version thereof, were inherently adapted to distinguish the services offered by the applicant from those of other traders, as required by section 41 of the Act. This involved considering the ordinary signification of the words and the likelihood that other traders might legitimately desire to use the same or similar marks in connection with their own services.

In reaching a decision, the delegate applied the principles established in *Accor Australia & New Zealand Hospitality Pty Ltd v Liv Pty Ltd*, which synthesised the governing principles from *Clark Equipment Co v Registrar of Trade Marks* and *Cantarella Bros Pty Limited v Modena Trading Pty Limited*. The delegate considered evidence of continuous use of the marks since 2004 and 2011, respectively, along with promotional expenditure and revenue data, and declarations from third-party traders. The delegate found that the evidence of use was sufficient to engage section 41(3) of the Act, indicating that the marks had acquired distinctiveness.

Consequently, the delegate ordered that the applications be accepted for registration.