Kevin Murphy Asia Pte Ltd v Lab Brands Limited

This decision concerns two trade mark oppositions heard by Hearing Officer Michael Kirov. The parties involved were Kevin Murphy Asia Pte Ltd (KM Asia) as the opponent and Lab Brands Limited as the applicant. The dispute centred on KM Asia's opposition to Lab Brands' applications to register two trade marks, identified as application 1760701 and application 1733917.

The primary legal issues before the Hearing Officer were whether KM Asia had established grounds for opposing Lab Brands' trade mark applications. Specifically, the court was required to determine if Lab Brands had established its ground of opposition under section 41 of the relevant Act in relation to application 1760701, and whether KM Asia had established its ground of opposition under section 60 of the Act in relation to application 1733917.

The Hearing Officer found that Lab Brands had established its section 41 ground of opposition for application 1760701, as KM Asia had not successfully argued for the application of section 41(4). Consequently, this application was refused. However, for application 1733917, the Hearing Officer determined that KM Asia had not established its section 60 ground of opposition, finding that the relevant trade mark did not possess sufficient reputation in Australia at the specified date. Therefore, application 1733917 was permitted to proceed to registration. The Hearing Officer also awarded costs against KM Asia in favour of Lab Brands.