Trade mark application number 2075313 (classes 35 and 44) – Melbourne Bone and Joint Clinic - in the name of Melbourne Bone and Joint Clinic Pty Ltd.

This matter concerned a trade mark application for "MELBOURNE BONE AND JOINT CLINIC" in classes 35 and 44, filed by Melbourne Bone and Joint Clinic Pty Ltd. The application was considered by Nicole Worth, Hearing Officer and Delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks.

The primary legal issue before the Hearing Officer was whether the trade mark should be rejected under section 41 of the *Trade Marks Act 1995* (Cth). Specifically, the Hearing Officer had to determine if the trade mark was inherently adapted to distinguish the applicant's services and, if not, whether its use had acquired distinctiveness.

The Hearing Officer reasoned that the trade mark was descriptive of the services offered, namely medical consultations and surgical procedures involving bones and joints. While acknowledging some evidence of use and recognition, the Hearing Officer was not satisfied that this use had displaced the ordinary signification of the words to the extent that they had acquired a secondary meaning identifying the applicant. The duration and extent of use were considered insufficient to overcome the descriptive nature of the mark. Consequently, the Hearing Officer concluded that a ground for rejection existed under section 41(3) of the Act.

The application for registration of the trade mark was rejected.