3. Statements of the goods/services

In order to qualify as a series under subsection (i) of the definition of “series of trade marks” in section 5 of the Act, the marks in an application must:

• Resemble each other in their material particulars, and
• Differ only in respect of statements of the goods or services for which they are used, or are proposed to be used.

In the Lynson decision Chief Assistant Registrar Farquhar considered the equivalent provision in the Australian Trade Marks Act 1955 and concluded that:⁵

The statements … must be such that they do not contribute to the function that the mark has in distinguishing the proprietor’s goods from those of other traders. They must be clearly and unambiguously separate from those features of the mark by which it, and the goods or services which it identifies, will be known.

Valid:

Footnote

⁵ Lynson above n 2.