Revocation of a Trade Mark
- Apr 7, 2023
- 1 min read
The Registrar of trade marks has the power to revoke the registration of a trade mark if the trade mark should not have been registered. The rules indicate that this “is not intended to be a mechanism for parties to file de facto oppositions.” Under s84A of the Australia Trade Marks Act, the Registrar may revoke the registration of a trade mark if he or she is satisfied that the trade mark should not have been registered and that it is reasonable to revoke the registration.
Likelihood of Success
The trade mark rules clearly say that “It is expected that revocation of registration will be a rare occurrence”. There are significant risks that this process will not be successful.
The result of a revocation in the hands of the registrar, and the registrar has the discretion whether to revoke the registration or not. In other words it is not mandatory for the registrar to revoke the registration.
Costs
There is no prescribed government costs for this action.
Actions required
A request for revocation is made in writing and must show detailed reasons. For example that it is in the public interest that a serious opposition should be allowed to proceed to a resolution. There is no prescribed list, however reasons should be provided.
Implications of outcomes
a. If a revocation is successful then the trade mark is returned to examination. It would then be necessary to file an opposition, incurring the costs and take the action required for an opposition.
b. An appeal of the revocation can be made at the Federal court of Australia.
