ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC v Nidham Moustafa Ali Al Barazanchi

ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC (the Applicant) sought to register a trade mark, which was opposed by Nidham Moustafa Ali Al Barazanchi (the Opponent). The dispute concerned the Applicant's trade mark application, which the Opponent argued should not be registered. The matter was heard by Jock McDonagh, a delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks, in Canberra.

The court was required to determine whether any of the grounds of opposition nominated by the Opponent under sections 41, 42, 43, 44, 58, 59, 60, and 62A of the relevant Act had been established. The Opponent needed to successfully establish at least one of these grounds for the opposition to succeed.

The delegate found that the Opponent had successfully established a ground of opposition under section 43 of the Act. The reasoning was that the Applicant's trade mark application was likely to deceive or cause confusion by creating the connotation that the Applicant was endorsed by or approved by a cricket governing body. Consequently, the delegate refused to register the trade mark application. As the successful party, the Opponent was awarded its costs against the Applicant.