Garry John Arbrew v Promoto Melbourne Pty Ltd

Garry John Arbrew (the applicant) sought to register a trade mark, application number 1144564. Promoto Melbourne Pty Ltd (the opponent) opposed this application. The decision was made by Jock McDonagh, a Hearing Officer at the Trade Marks Hearings.

The primary legal issue before the Hearing Officer was whether the opponent had established any grounds for opposing the registration of the trade mark, as required by section 55 of the relevant Act. Specifically, the Hearing Officer considered the ground of opposition argued at the hearing, which related to section 58 of the Act. The onus rested on the opponent to prove the grounds of opposition.

The Hearing Officer found that the opponent had successfully discharged the onus of proof in relation to the ground of opposition under section 58. Consequently, the Hearing Officer decided to refuse the registration of the trade mark application. Following the usual principle that costs follow the event, the Hearing Officer also awarded costs against the applicant, to be assessed according to the official scale in Schedule 8 of the Trade Marks Regulations 1995.