TRADE MARKS ORDINANCE
PART II
Registered Trade Marks
Introductory
10. Registered trade mark a property right
(1) A registered trade mark is a property right obtained by the registration of the trade mark under this Ordinance.
(2) The owner of a registered trade mark has the rights and is entitled to the remedies provided by this Ordinance.
(3) No proceedings lie to prevent, or to recover damages for, the infringement of an unregistered trade mark but nothing in this Ordinance affects the law relating to passing off.
Grounds for refusal of registration
11. Absolute grounds for refusal of registration
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the following shall not be registered—
- (a) signs which do not satisfy the requirements of section 3(1) (meaning of “trade mark”);
- (b) trade marks which are devoid of any distinctive character;
- (c) trade marks which consist exclusively of signs which may serve, in trade or business, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, time of production of goods or rendering of services, or other characteristics of goods or services; and
- (d) trade marks which consist exclusively of signs which have become customary in the current language or in the honest and established practices of the trade.
(2) A trade mark shall not be refused registration by virtue of subsection (1)(b), (c) or (d) if, before the date of application for registration, it has in fact acquired a distinctive character as a result of the use made of it.
(3) A sign shall not be registered as a trade mark in relation to goods if it consists exclusively of—
- (a) the shape that results from the nature of the goods themselves;
- (b) the shape of goods that is necessary to obtain a technical result; or
- (c) the shape that gives substantial value to the goods.
