Plant 10 Spirits LLC v Effen Holdings Pty Ltd

Plant 10 Spirits LLC (the opponent) opposed Effen Holdings Pty Ltd's (the applicant) Australian trade mark application no. 1038686 for the word "EFFEN" in class 33 for "vodka". The opponent, a US-based company, asserted ownership of various US trade mark registrations for "EFFEN" and related marks, and claimed its EFFEN vodka was available in Australia. The opponent argued that the applicant had no intention to use the trade mark on all the goods and services within its specification due to the applicant's seemingly limited business activities.

The Hearing Officer was required to determine whether the opponent had established any of the grounds of opposition to the applicant's trade mark application. The onus was on the opponent to prove its grounds of opposition on the balance of probabilities.

The Hearing Officer found that the opponent had not established any of the grounds of opposition. Consequently, the Hearing Officer decided that the trade mark application could proceed to registration one month from the date of the decision, unless an appeal was filed. In the event of an appeal, registration would be stayed until the appeal was discontinued or resolved by the courts. The Hearing Officer also awarded costs against the opponent.