SINGAPORE: Registrar Is Unconvinced by Similarity and Bad-Faith Allegations

This decision shows that a high threshold of proof is required to be successful in trademark similarity and bad-faith allegations. Despite two competing marks sharing the same word, stylistic and emphatic differences can render them dissimilar. Even in those circumstances, sufficient distinction between those marks remains commercially acceptable and can rebut an allegation of bad […]

SINGAPORE: Way Off!

An application by S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (applicant) to invalidate Off-White LLC’s (the proprietor’s) registered trademark on the grounds of similarity, well-known mark status, and passing off was adjudged to fail by the IP adjudicator in his decision, rendered on December 15, 2021. His decision bears highlighting as it underscores how, when considering […]

Singapore: A-Star Education Discovery Camps Pte. Ltd. v. Discovery Communications, LLC

In a decision billed by the hearing registrar as a “David and Goliath clash”, Discovery Communications, LLC (“Opponent”), a corporate media giant of “Discovery Channel” fame, brought opposition proceedings against the application of A-Star-Education Discovery Camps Pte. Ltd. (“Applicant”) to register the mark “   ” (the “Application Mark”) (Singapore Trade Mark No. 40201714407Q). The Principal […]

Digi mark application fails in Singapore: Teraoka Seiko Co., Ltd v. Digi International Inc. [2020] SGIPOS 1

Digi International Inc. (“the Applicant”) is an American Industrial Internet of Things technology company headquartered in the United States of America founded in 1985. The Applicant applied to protect the trade mark: (“the Application Mark”) in Singapore on 3 March 2016 under International Registration No. 1326111 (TradeMark No. 40201700142X) in Classes 9, 38 and 42. […]