Big shout out to our client Zahara Designz who finally got their trade mark registered today after a 3 year contested opposition with clothing label ZARA!
Please check out their amazing African-inspired clothing range if you are in Perth!
The decision has not been published as yet, but there is some good discussion regarding deceptive similarity between ZARA and ZAHARA DESIGNZ, including the graphic elements of the Zahara Designz logo which reinforced the African theme of the mark and assisted to differentiate the marks. Ultimately it was found that:
the trade marks were not deceptively similar (section 44);
notwithstanding the reputation of the ZARA trade mark, use of the ZAHARA DESIGNZ trade mark would not be likely to deceive or cause confusion (section 60);
use of the ZAHARA DESIGNZ trade mark would not amount to misleading or deceptive conduct, or passing off of the ZARA brand (section 42(b)).
Industria De Diseno Textil S.A. (Inditex S.A.) v Thandi Silwimba [ATMO] (21 April 2023)
#trademarkopposition #zaharadesignz #zara
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