2.3 Particular characteristics

A trade mark indicating a particular characteristic of the goods or services will not necessarily trigger a concern under section 17(1)(a) of the Act. The presumption is that the applicant will only use the mark on goods or services that have that particular characteristic or else the applicant will fall foul of other legislation such as the Fair Trading Act 1986.

However, where the goods or services do not cover the particular characteristic, examiners should raise a concern under section 17(1)(a) of the Act on the grounds that if the mark were used on goods and services other than those with that characteristic this might deceive or cause confusion as to the particular characteristic of the goods or services to which the mark were applied. For example: