Cisco Technology Inc v Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Cisco Technology Inc. (the applicant) sought to register a trade mark, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) (the opponent) opposed this application. The dispute concerned whether CSIRO's opposition to Cisco's trade mark application should succeed. The decision was made by Iain Campbell Thompson.

The court was required to determine whether any of the grounds of opposition raised by CSIRO had been established. Specifically, the court had to consider the extent to which CSIRO had proven its case for opposing the registration of Cisco's trade mark.

The court found that CSIRO had not established any of the grounds of opposition it had raised. Consequently, the court decided that the trade mark application could proceed to registration. The applicant, Cisco Technology Inc., was awarded costs against the opponent, CSIRO, on the scale set out in Schedule 8 to the Trade Mark Regulations 1995. The registration was to proceed one month from the date of the decision, unless a notice of appeal was served, in which case registration would be stayed pending the outcome of the appeal.