IHemp Victoria Inc v Leasec Pty Ltd

IHemp Victoria Inc opposed the registration of the trade mark application number 2149522, filed by Leasec Pty Ltd, for services in Class 35. The opposition was brought by iHemp Victoria Inc, also known as the Industrial Hemp Association of Victoria. The matter was heard by Blake Knowles.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the trade mark application by Leasec Pty Ltd should be refused on the grounds that it was likely to deceive or cause confusion, pursuant to section 60 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth). This involved determining if the applicant's proposed mark was identical or deceptively similar to the opponent's earlier trade mark, "iHemp Victoria", and if there was a real chance of deception or confusion among consumers.

The court considered the principles of deceptive similarity, noting that it requires an assessment of whether an ordinary consumer, with imperfect recollection, would be likely to mistake one mark for the other. The court found that the applicant's mark, "iHAV", was not deceptively similar to the opponent's mark, "iHemp Victoria". The court reasoned that the visual and phonetic differences between the two marks were significant enough to prevent a likelihood of deception or confusion in the marketplace.

Consequently, the opposition was dismissed, and the trade mark application by Leasec Pty Ltd was allowed to proceed to registration.