Geelong Grammar School Limited

This matter concerned a trade mark application by Geelong Grammar School Limited. The dispute arose from the Registrar of Trade Marks' intention to reject the application based on grounds under section 44 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth) and regulation 4.15A of the *Trade Marks Regulations 1995* (Cth). The applicant sought to register a trade mark for a range of goods and services, including those related to education and accommodation.

The primary legal issues before the Hearing Officer were whether the grounds for rejection established under section 44 and regulation 4.15A were proven in relation to a subset of the goods and services for which the trade mark was sought, and whether the applicant had provided sufficient evidence to overcome these grounds. The Hearing Officer was required to consider the presumption of registrability under section 33 of the Act, which mandates acceptance unless grounds for rejection are established.

The Hearing Officer found that the grounds for rejection under section 44 and regulation 4.15A were established in respect of certain goods and services. While acknowledging the applicant's evidence regarding the long-standing reputation of its "Timbertop" program and its intention to use the proposed mark as part of a family of trade marks, the Hearing Officer was not satisfied that this evidence was sufficient to overcome the identified grounds for rejection. The Hearing Officer noted that the Registrar must reject an application if satisfied that grounds for rejection exist, but also has the discretion to accept an application subject to conditions or limitations, and must provide the applicant an opportunity to be heard.

Following notification of the intention to reject the application, the applicant consented to amending the specification of goods and services. The Hearing Officer accepted the trade mark application for registration based on the amended specification, which addressed the grounds for rejection and other classification issues that had been raised during the examination process.