Applicant applied for registration of the stylised trade mark QLUDO for a range of goods in Classes 9 and 25.
The opponent, Hasbro, is the owner in Australia of several trade mark registrations for CLUEDO (the arguably well-known board game) covering a wide range of goods including identical goods in Classes 9 and 25 as those covered by the applicant’s mark.
Hasbro pressed section 44 based on its prior registrations and the aural and visual similarly of its marks which cover identical goods.
In his comments the Hearing Officer noted ‘that aural similarity may in itself be sufficient as a basis for finding two trade marks deceptively similar’. The Hearing Officer noted that the applicant did not produce any evidence of how the trade mark would (or should) correctly be pronounced and he, therefore, assumed it would be pronounced QLU(CLUE)-DO(DO).
Having found that the trade marks were ‘phonetically identical’, it stood to reason that the trade marks were found to be deceptively similar and the opposition was successful.
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