Well-known marks in Hong Kong

01-04-2012

Kenny Leung

Section 11(5)(b) of the Trade Marks Ordinance provides that a trademark shall not be registered if the application for registration of it is made in bad faith.

Section 11(5)(b) of the Trade Marks Ordinance (TMO) provides that a trademark shall not be registered if the application for registration of it is made in bad faith.

Recently, two trademark cases have been decided where each of the opponents successfully established bad faith.

The first case concerns a pending application for a device mark consisting of symmetrical patterns around the inner part of a circle and the letter ‘V’ at the centre. This mark was filed by a furniture company in Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China, while the opponent is Gianni Versace SpA of Italy. Based on the following observations, the hearing officer is satisfied that the Section 11(5)(b) objection is sustained.


Hong Kong, trademark registration, bad faith

WIPR