Dinners Club International Ltd v Unterberger Intellectual Property Pty Ltd

This matter concerned an opposition to a trade mark application brought by Unterberger Intellectual Property Pty Ltd (the opponent) against Diners Club International Ltd (the applicant). The opposition was heard by a delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks.

The legal issues before the delegate were whether the applicant's trade mark should be rejected under sections 44 and 60 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth). The opponent had initially raised ten grounds of opposition, but only pursued these two at the hearing.

The delegate reasoned that the onus was on the opponent to establish its grounds of opposition. In relation to section 44, the delegate considered the definitions of "substantially identical" and "deceptively similar" trade marks and "similar goods or services". However, the provided text does not detail the delegate's specific findings or reasoning on section 44. Regarding section 60, the delegate found that the opponent had failed to prove a critical element of that ground.

Consequently, the delegate determined that the opponent had not succeeded on either ground of opposition. The applicant's trade mark application was therefore permitted to proceed to registration, subject to any appeal.