Decision of Registrar of Trade Marks - Opposition to Registration of ExoticLimo (Stylised) of 29 July 2010.

Exotic Limo Pty Ltd applied to register ExoticLimo (stylised) for car hire and chauffeuring services:

Theo Dimokranitis runs his own car hire business, Exoticar. He objected to registration on two bases:

first, because of conflict with the reputation in his business which operated under the trade mark exoticar - an objection under section 60 of the Trade Marks Act; and secondly, because of conflict with his prior registered trade mark registration for exoticar / euro / luxury hire - an objection under section 44 of the Trade Marks Act: Both parties filed evidence demonstrating limited trading activities and reputation. There was some evidence of consumer confusion.

A delegate of the Registrar of Trade Marks dismissed both these objections to registration.

Section 44 objection: "substantially identical with, or deceptively similar to"

The two trade mark were not deceptively similar. They...