Zanzibar ' Yimei Hotel vs MHG IP Holding

• Published date: 06 October 2021
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Trademark
• Law Firm: Adams & Adams
• Author: Adams & Adams

In November 2018, Yimei Hotel Management (Shenzhen) Limited ("the Applicant") applied to register trade mark no. ZN/S/2018/461

as a service mark in class 43. The mark was published for opposition purposes and an opposition was filed against its registration by MHG IP Holding (Singapore) PTE LTD ("the Opponent").

The Opponent relied upon its earlier registration in Zanzibar for the mark , also in class 43, as well as its well-known trade mark rights and the argument that any use of the opposed mark in Zanzibar would constitute trade mark infringement and passing-off. It also argued that the Applicant had acted in bad faith in adopting a mark so similar to the internationally well-known trade mark of the Opponent, of which it must have been aware. The Applicant defended the matter and denied that confusion would be likely, or that the Opponent could claim that its trade mark was well-known in Zanzibar.

The Assistant Registrar of Industrial Property ("the Registrar") gave consideration to the parties' arguments, evidence, and written submissions and, in a decision handed down in June 2021, found...