Requirement: A mark must not deceive or cause confusion

An application for trade mark registration will be rejected if the mark carries a connotation that is likely to deceive or cause confusion to consumers. The connotation may exist because the mark falsely suggests some quality or connection that the goods or services to which it attaches do not have.

Scottish bourbon?

A common example of this is a mark that contains a false geographical indication. In a 2007 case, the mark GLENN OAKS was refused registration in relation to bourbon, because it conveyed a (false) connotation of Scottish origin and its use was likely to deceive or cause confusion.

A mark must not be substantially identical with or deceptively similar to an existing trade mark

We discuss what substantially identical and deceptively similar mean later in this topic, and how to discover existing marks. Similarity to an existing mark will only be a bar to registration if the existing mark is registered in the same or similar class of goods or services as the applicant’s goods or services. The next topic explains the class registration system.