Celgene Corporation

This decision concerns an application by Celgene Corporation for an International Registration of a Designation of Australia (IRDA) which was rejected by the Registrar of Trade Marks. The applicant sought an extension of protection in Australia for its international trade mark registration.

The central legal issue before the Hearing Officer was whether the Registrar was satisfied that there were grounds for rejecting the IRDA, as contemplated by regulation 17A.24 of the relevant regulations. Specifically, the Hearing Officer had to determine if the IRDA was not in accordance with the applicable Division of the regulations or if other grounds for rejection existed.

The Hearing Officer applied regulation 17A.24, which mandates the Registrar to accept an IRDA unless satisfied of specific grounds for rejection. In this instance, the Hearing Officer was satisfied that grounds for rejection existed, leading to the refusal of the extension of protection. The decision does not elaborate on the specific grounds that led to this satisfaction.

Consequently, the Hearing Officer rejected IRDA no. 1465111, which corresponded to International Registration No 1098651, and accordingly refused the extension of protection for the trade mark APR in Australia.