A recent decision of the Federal Court emphasizes the importance
of ensuring that expert witnesses understand their independent
advisory role to the Court.
The Applicant's Marks
The applicant applied to register two trade mark applications
which were primarily made up of Chinese characters. The
applications were based on proposed use in association with bakery
type goods, among others.
The Oppositions
The opponent opposed the applications on the basis that the
applied for marks were confusing with the two registered trade
marks owned by it which were also primarily made up of Chinese
characters.
The opponent filed evidence in the oppositions which included an
affidavit of an expert in the field of Chinese language studies.
She acknowledged that the applicant's Chinese characters were
written in a different script style as compared to those in the
opponent's mark. However she said that despite this difference
that the majority of the Chinese characters of
