Trade mark application number 2060104 (class 21) - BLUE PAN (Figurative)- in the name of The Cookware Company Global Sourcing Limited

This matter concerned an appeal against the decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks to reject an application for the registration of the trade mark BLUE PAN (Figurative) in Class 21, filed by The Cookware Company Global Sourcing Limited. The application sought to register a figurative mark depicting a frying pan with a blue handle.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the trade mark BLUE PAN (Figurative) was capable of distinguishing the applicant's goods (cookware) from the goods of other persons, as required by section 41 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth). This involved an assessment of whether the mark was inherently adapted to distinguish or had acquired distinctiveness through use.

The Court considered the evidence of use provided by the applicant, finding it insufficient to establish that the mark had acquired distinctiveness in Australia. It was noted that the mark, when applied to cookware, was descriptive of the goods themselves, particularly the colour of the handle, and therefore lacked the inherent capacity to distinguish the applicant's goods from those of competitors. The Registrar's decision was upheld.