Fratelli Fantini SpA v Beverley Harris

Fratelli Fantini SpA (the Opponent) opposed an application for registration of a trade mark by Beverley Harris. The Opponent relied on its ownership of registered trade marks, specifically registration numbers 722352 and 1745058, both bearing the trade mark FANTINI. The dispute concerned whether the Opponent had established grounds for opposing the registration of the trade mark. The decision was made by Iain Campbell Thompson, a Hearing Officer for Trade Marks Hearings, based on the written record.

The legal issues before the Hearing Officer were to determine whether any of the grounds of opposition raised by the Opponent had been established on the balance of probabilities. The onus rested with the Opponent to prove its case. The relevant date for considering these grounds was the filing date of the opposed trade mark application, which also served as the priority date for sections 44 and 60 of the relevant Act.

The Hearing Officer considered the evidence filed by both parties, including declarations from Daniela Fantini for the Opponent and Beverley Margaret Harris for the applicant. The Opponent's evidence established its ownership of the FANTINI trade marks. However, the Hearing Officer concluded that the Opponent had not established any ground of opposition.

Consequently, the Hearing Officer decided that the trade mark application could proceed to registration one month from the date of the decision, unless the Registrar was served with a notice of appeal. In the event of an appeal, registration was to be deferred until the appeal was decided or discontinued, with the disposition of the application to follow any court order or direction.