Peters (W.A.) Limited v Kellogg Company

Peters (W.A.) Limited and Kellogg Company were parties to a dispute concerning the registration of a trade mark. The matter came before the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the trade mark sought to be registered by Kellogg Company was deceptively similar to an existing trade mark owned by Peters (W.A.) Limited, such that its registration ought to be refused under the relevant provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1955 (Cth).

The Court applied the principles established in the High Court decision regarding the assessment of deceptive similarity. This involved a consideration of the visual and phonetic resemblance between the marks, as well as the conceptual similarity. The Court also had regard to the goods in respect of which the marks were used or intended to be used, and the likelihood of confusion among consumers. The Court found that the marks were not deceptively similar, and therefore the opposition to registration failed.