Dick Smith to appeal decision to strike OzEmite trademark from register
Dick Smith has decided to appeal a decision to remove the trademark registration of Dick Smith’s OzEmite despite previously telling Mumbrella he “probably wouldn’t” appeal last month’s ruling, citing support from the public.
“We got some very good advice from a barrister who’s an expert in this field. He thought not only would we be able to prevent him from striking out our name but we’d have a very good case of having his name removed because he pinched ours,” Smith told Mumbrella.
At the time of the decision Smith told Mumbrella: “We probably won’t appeal the decision but if Roger Ramsey spends thousands of dollars on fighting us on the name we’ll just change it to Dickymite, that’s quite a good name.”
Looks like the two main areas of contention here are:
1. Dick Smith registered the name first, but didn’t use it for almost ten years. A trademark unused for three years can be cancelled by IP Australia.
2. IP Australia probably should’t have approved the registration of Aussie Mite in the first place as it is confusingly similar to existing OzeMite. Although Dick Smith could have opposed the application.
Which goes to show the value of having a watch list on new trademark applications. if you own a trademark, it’s well worth regularly seeing what comes up on the trademark database that may step on your toes.
I wonder if IP Australia could be held liable for negligence in approving the Aussie Mite trademark in the first place, given that OzeMite was registered first?