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BERMUDA
1974 : 93
TRADE MARKS ACT 1974
[The Trade
Marks Act 1974 was extended by the Trade Marks (Modification and Amendment) Act
1991 so as to have effect with respect
to service marks as it has effect with
respect to trade marks.
See Appendix at the end of this Act for modification text]
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1 Interpretation
PART II
REGISTRATION,
INFRINGE MENT AND OTHER SUBSTAN TIVE PROVISIONS
2 The register of trade marks
3 No action for infringement of unregistered
trade mark
4 Registration to be in re spect of
particular goods
5 Right given by registration in Part A and
infringement thereof
6 Right
given by registration in Part B and infringe ment thereof
7 Infringement by breach of certain
restrictions
8 Saving for vested rights
9 Saving for use of name, address or
description of goods
THE REFEREE
9A Appointment of referee
9B Case or matter may be referred to referee
9C Powers and duties of referee
REGISTRABILITY AND VALID ITY OF REGISTRATION
10 Distinctiveness
requisite for registration in Part A
11 Capability of distinguish ing requisite for
registra tion in Part B
12 Restrictions on registra tion
13 Prohibition of registration of identical and
resem bling trade marks
14 Registration in Part A to be conclusive as
to valid ity after seven years
15 Registration subject to disclaimer
16 Words used as name or description of an
article or substance
17 Effect of limitation as to colour and of
absence thereof
PROCEDURE FOR,
AND DU RATION OF, REGISTRATION
18 Application for registra tion
19 Opposition to registration
20 Protection of marks reg istered in country
of origin
21 Registration
22 Removal of trade mark from register on proof
of prior registration in country of origin
23 Duration and renewal of registration
24 Registration of parts of trade marks and of
trade marks as a series
25 Associated trade marks
ASSIGNMENT AND TRANSMIS SION
26 Powers of, and restrictions on assignment
and transmission
27 Power of registered propri etor to assign
and give re ceipts
28 Registration of assign ments and
transmissions
USE AND NON-USE
29 Removal from register and imposition of
limitations on grounds of non-use
30 Defensive registration of well known trade
marks
31 Registered users
31A Proposed use of trade mark by corporation to
be constituted, etc.
32 Use of one of associated or substantially
identical trade marks equivalent to use of another
33 Use of trade mark for ex port trade
RECTIFICATION AND
COR RECTION OF THE REGISTER
34 General power to rectify entries in register
35 Powers to expunge or vary registration for
breach of condition
36 Correction of register
37 Alteration of registered trade mark
38 Adaptation
of entries in register to amend or sub stituted classification of goods
GENERAL AND MISCELLA NEOUS
39 Power of Minister to make regulations and
prescribe forms
40 Fees
41 Preliminary advice by Registrar as to
distinc tiveness
42 Hearing before exercise of Registrar's
discretion
43 Power of Registrar to award costs
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
AND APPEALS
44 Registration to be prima facie evidence of
validity
45 Costs of Registrar in pro ceedings before
Court, and payment of costs by Registrar
46 Trade usage, etc. to be considered
47 Registrar's appearance in proceedings
involving rec tification
48 Court's
power to review Registrar's decision
49 Discretion of Court in ap peals
50 Procedure in cases of op tion to apply to
Court or Registrar
EVIDENCE
51 Mode of giving evidence
52 Evidence of entries in register
53 Certificate
of Registrar to be evidence
OFFENCES
54 Falsification of entries in register an
offence
MISCELLANEOUS
56 Change of form of trade connection not to be
deemed to cause decep tion
57 Jointly owned trade marks
58 Trusts and equities
59 Recognition of agents
60 [omitted]
61 [omitted]
62 [omitted]
63 Commencement [omitted]
SCHEDULE [omitted]
[29 July 1974]
[preamble and words of enactment omitted]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Interpretation
1 (1) In
this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
"assignment"
means assignment by act of the parties concerned;
"Court"
means the Supreme Court;
"limitations"
means any limitations of the exclusive right to the use of a trade mark given
by the registration of a person
as proprietor thereof, including limitations of
that right as to mode of use, as to use in relation to goods to be sold, or oth
erwise
traded in, in Bermuda, or as to use in relation to goods to be exported to any
market outside Bermuda;
"mark"
includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word,
letter, numeral, or any combination thereof;
"Minister"
means the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs;
"permitted
use" has the meaning assigned to it by section 31(1);
"prescribed"
means, in relation to proceedings before the Court, prescribed by rules of
Court, and, in other cases, prescribed
by this Act or the regulations;
"the
register" means the register of trade marks kept under this Act;
"the
Registrar" means the Registrar-General;
"registered trade
mark" means a trade mark which is registered under this Act;
"registered
user" means a person who is for the time being reg istered as such under
section 31;
"the
regulations" means regulations made by the Minister under section 38 or
section 39;
"statutory
declaration" means a declaration in the form of an af fidavit (as defined
in the Commissioners for Oaths and
No taries Public Act 1972 [title 8 item 22]), taken in Bermuda by a
Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public or, in the case of a declaration made
abroad,
(i) which would be admissible in evidence in
cases or matters depending in the Supreme Court in accor dance with the rules
thereof;
or
(ii) which is made and subscribed in such manner
as may be prescribed;
"trade mark"
means a mark used or proposed to be used in rela tion to goods for the purpose
of indicating, or so as to
indi cate, a connection in the course of trade
between the goods, and some person having the right either as proprietor or as
registered
user to use the mark, whether with or without any indication of the
identity of that person;
"transmission"
means transmission by operation of law, devolu tion on the personal
representative of a deceased person,
and any other mode of transfer not being
assignment.
(2) References
in this Act to the use of a mark shall be con strued as references to the use
of a printed or other visual representation
of the mark, and references therein
to the use of a mark in relation to goods shall be construed as references to
the use thereof
upon, or in physical or other relation to, goods.
(3) For
the purposes of this Act goods and services are associated with each other if
it is likely that those goods might be sold or
otherwise traded in and those
services might be provided by the same business, and so with descriptions of
goods and descriptions
of services.
(4) References
in this Act to a near resemblance of marks are references to a resemblance so
near as to be likely to deceive or cause
confusion.
[Section 1
amended by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993 and modified by First Schedule of
1991:39 effective 18 June 1991]
PART II
REGISTRATION,
INFRINGEMENT AND OTHER SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS
The register of
trade marks
2 (1) For
the purpose of this Act the Registrar shall keep a record called the register
of trade marks, in which shall be entered—
(a) all registered trade marks with the dates of
their registration, the names and addresses of their proprietors and the
proprietors'
agents;
(b) notifications of assignments and transmissions;
(c) the name and addresses of all registered user
and registered users' agents;
(d) disclaimers, conditions and limitations; and
(e) such other matters relating to registered trade
marks as may be prescribed.
(2) The
register shall be divided into two parts, called Part A and Part B.
(3) Part
A of the Register shall comprise all trade marks which—
(a) immediately preceding 1 July 1975 are entered
in the register of trade marks under the Patents, Designs and Trade Marks Act
1930
[title 17 item 45 (under its present
title as the Patents and Designs Act 1930)];
(b) after 30 June 1975 are registered in that Part
under this Act.
(4) Part
B shall comprise all trade marks registered in that Part under this Act.
(5) The
register need not be kept in documentary form.
(6) Subject
to the regulations the public shall have a right to inspect the register at all
convenient times.
(7) The
register shall be kept under the control and manage ment of the Registrar.
[Section 2
amended by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
No action for
infringement of unregistered trade mark
3 (1) No
person shall be entitled to institute any proceedings to prevent, or to recover
damages for, the infringement of an unregistered
trade mark.
(2) Nothing
in this Act shall be deemed to affect rights of action against any person for
passing off goods as goods of another person
or the remedies in respect
thereof.
Registration to
be in respect of particular goods
4 A trade mark must be registered in
respect of particular goods or classes of goods, and any question arising as to
the class within
which any goods fall shall be determined by the Registrar.
Right given by
registration in Part A and infringement thereof
5 (1) Subject
to subsections (2) and (4) and sections 3 and 9, the registration of a person
in Part A of the register as a proprietor
of a trade mark in respect of any
goods shall, if valid, give or be deemed to have given to that person the
exclusive right to
the use of the trade mark in relation to those goods and,
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words, that right
shall be
deemed to be infringed by any person who, not being the proprietor of the trade
mark or registered user thereof using
by way of the permitted use, uses in the
course of trade a mark identical with or nearly resembling it, in relation to
any goods
in respect of which it is regis tered, and in such manner as to
render the use of the mark likely to be taken either —
(a) as being use as a trade mark; or
(b) in the case in which the use is use upon the
goods or in physical relation thereto or in an advertising circular or other
advertisement
issued to the public, as importing a reference to some person
having the right either as pro prietor or as registered user to use
the trade
mark or to goods with which such person as aforesaid is connected in the course
of trade.
(2) The
right to the use of a trade mark given by registration as aforesaid shall be
subject to any conditions or limitations entered
on the register, and shall not
be deemed to be infringed by the use of any such mark as aforesaid in any mode,
in relation to goods
to be sold or other wise traded in any place, in relation
to goods to be exported to any mar ket, or in any other circumstances,
to
which, having regard to any such limitations, the registration does not extend.
(3) The
right to the use of a trade mark given by registration as aforesaid shall not
be deemed to be infringed by the use of any such
mark as aforesaid by any
person —
(a) in relation to goods connected in the course of
trade with the proprietor or a registered user of the trade mark if as to those
goods or the bulk of which they form part, the proprietor or the registered
user conforming to the per mitted use has applied the
trade mark and has not
sub sequently removed or obliterated it, or has at any time expressly or
impliedly consented to the use
of the trade mark; or
(b) in relation to goods adapted to form part of,
or to be ac cessory to, other goods in relation to which the trade mark has
been used
without infringement of the right given as aforesaid or might for the
time being be so used, if the use of the mark is reasonably
necessary in order
to indicate that the goods are so adapted and nei ther the purpose nor the
effect of the use of the mark is
to indicate otherwise than in accordance with
the fact a connection in the course of trade between any person and the goods.
(4) The
use of a registered trade mark, being one of two or more registered trade marks
that are identical or nearly resemble each other,
in exercise of the right to
the use of that trade mark given by registration as aforesaid, shall not be
deemed to be an infringement
of the right to be given to the use of any other
of those trade marks.
[Section 5
modified by First Schedule and amended by Second Schedule of 1991:39 effective
18 June 1993]
Right given by
registration in Part B and infringement thereof
6 (1) Except
as provided by subsection (2), the registration of a person in Part B of the
register as proprietor of a trade mark in respect
of any goods shall, if valid,
give or be deemed to have given to that person the like right in relation to
those goods as if the
registration had been in Part A of the register, and
section 5 shall have effect in like manner in relation to a trade mark
registered
in Part B of the register as they have effect in relation to a trade
mark registered in Part A of the register.
(2) In
any action for infringement of the right to the use of a trade mark given by
registration as aforesaid in Part B of the register,
otherwise than by an act
that is deemed to be an infringement by virtue of section 7, no injunction or
other relief shall be granted
to the plaintiff if the defendant establishes to
the satisfaction of the Court that the use of which the plaintiff complains is
not likely to deceive or cause confu sion or to be taken as indicating a
connection in the course of trade be tween the goods and
some person having the
right either as proprietor or as registered user to use the trade mark.
[Section 6
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Infringement by breach of certain restrictions
7 (1) Where,
by a contract in writing made with the proprietor or a registered user of a
registered trade mark, a purchaser or owner of
goods enters into an obligation
to the effect that he will not do, in rela tion to the goods, an act to which
this section applies,
any person who, being the owner for the time being of the
goods and having notice of the obligation, does that act, or authorises
it to
be done, in relation to the goods, in the course of trade or with a view to any
dealing therewith in the course of trade,
shall be deemed thereby to infringe
the right to the use of the trade mark given by the registration thereof,
unless that per son
became the owner of the goods by purchase for money or
money's worth in good faith before receiving notice of the obligation or
by
virtue of a title derived through another who so became the owner thereof.
(2) The
acts to which this section applies are —
(a) the application of the trade mark upon the
goods after they have suffered alteration in any manner specified in the
contract as
respects their state or condition, get up or packing;
(b) in a case in which the trade mark is upon the
goods, the alteration, part removal or part obliteration thereof;
(c) in a case in which the trade mark is upon the
goods, and there is also thereon other matter, being matter in dicating a
connection
in the course of trade between the proprietor or registered user and
the goods, the removal or obliteration, whether wholly or partly,
of the trade
mark unless that other matter is wholly removed or obliterated;
(d) in a case in which the trade mark is upon the
goods, the application of any other trade mark to the goods;
(e) in a case in which the trade mark is upon the
goods, the addition to the goods of any other matter in writing that is likely
to
injure the reputation of the trade mark.
(3) In
this section references in relation to any goods to the proprietor, to a
registered user, and to the registration, of a trade
mark shall be construed,
respectively, as references to the proprietor in whose name the trade mark is
registered, to a registered
user who is registered, and to the registration of
the trade mark, in respect of those goods, and the expression "upon"
includes in relation to any goods a reference to physical relation thereto.
[Section 7 modified
by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Saving for
vested rights
8 Nothing in this Act shall entitle the
proprietor or a registered user of a registered trade mark to interfere with or
restrain the
use by any person of a trade mark identical with or nearly
resembling it in rela tion to goods in relation to which that person
or a
predecessor in title of his has continuously used that trade mark from a date
anterior —
(a) to the use of the first-mentioned trade mark in
respect of those goods by the proprietor or a predecessor in title of his; or
(b) to the registration of the first-mentioned
trade mark in respect of those goods in the name of the proprietor or a
predecessor in
title of his,
whichever is the
earlier, or to object (on such use being proved) to that person being put on
the register for that identical or
nearly resembling trade mark in respect of
these goods under section 13(2).
Saving for use
of name, address or description of goods
9 No registration of a trade mark shall
interfere with—
(a) any bona fide use by a person of his own name
or of the name of his place of business, or of the name, or of the name of the
place
of business, of any of his predecessors in business; or
(b) the use by any person of any bona fide
description of the character or equality of his goods, not being a descrip tion
that would
be likely to be taken as importing any such reference as is
mentioned in section 5(1)(b).
THE REFEREE
Appointment of
referee
9A (1) The
Minister may by instrument in writing published in the Gazette appoint a person
who by reason of his qualifications and experience
to be a referee to determine
any case or matter referred to him under this Act.
(2) The
person appointed under subsection (1) shall hold office for a period of one year
beginning on such day as the Minister may determine
and may be re-appointed
from time to time for a like period.
(3) The
Minister may, at any time by notification in the Gazette, appoint any person to
act temporarily in the place of the referee
if the referee is absent from
Bermuda or is for any reason unable to discharge his functions under this Act.
(4) The
referee may at any time resign his appointment by notice in writing addressed
to the Minister.
(5) The
referee appointed under this section shall have such powers and shall perform
such duties as are assigned to him under this
Act and the Regulations made
thereunder.
[Section 9A
inserted by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Case or matter
may be referred to referee
9B (1) Where
a notice of opposition and a counter-notice are sent to the Registrar under
section 19(2) and (4) respectively, in any case,
the Registrar may instead of,
pursuant to section 19(5), hearing the parties, considering the evidence and
making a decision, refer
the case to the referee for the referee to deal with
it on his behalf.
(2) Where
an application is made to the Registrar—
(a) by a person aggrieved under sections 29(1),
34(1) or 35; or
(b) by a registered proprietor of a trade mark
under section 36(1) or 37(1),
then the Registrar
may, instead of himself dealing with the application, refer the application to
the referee to deal with it on
his behalf.
[Section 9B
inserted by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Powers and
duties of referee
9C The referee, in the discharge of his functions
in relation to any case or matter referred to him under section 9B shall have
the
same powers and duties of the Registrar that the Registrar would have had
under the Act or any Regulations made thereunder in relation
to the case or
matter, including the power to award costs under section 43, and anything done
by the referee within the scope of
his authority shall, for the purposes of
this Act or any Regulations made thereunder, be deemed to have been done by the
Registrar
himself.
[Section 9C
inserted by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
REGISTRABILITY
AND VALIDITY OF REGISTRATION
Distinctiveness
requisite for registration in Part A
10 (1) A
trade mark to be registrable in Part A of the register, must contain or consist
of at least one of the following essential particulars
—
(a) the name of a company, individual, or firm,
represented in a special or particular manner;
(b) the signature of the applicant for registration
or some predecessor in his business;
(c) an invented word or invented words;
(d) a word or words having no direct reference to
the char acter or quality of the goods, and not being according to its ordinary
signification
a geographical name or a sur name;
(e) any other distinctive mark, but a name,
signature, or word or words, other than such as fall within the de scriptions
in paragraphs
(a), (b), (c) and (d), shall not be registrable under this
paragraph except upon evidence of its distinctiveness.
(2) For
the purposes of this section "distinctive" means adapted, in relation
to the goods in respect of which a trade mark
is reg istered or proposed to be
registered, to distinguish goods with which the proprietor of the trade mark is
or may be connected
in the course of trade from goods in the case of which no
such connection subsists, ei ther generally or, where the trade mark is
registered or proposed to be registered subject to limitations, in relation to
use within the extent of the registration.
(3) In
determining whether a trade mark is adapted to distinguish as aforesaid the
Registrar may have regard to the extent to which
—
(a) the trade mark is inherently adapted to
distinguish as aforesaid; and
(b) by reason of the use of the trade mark or of
any other circumstances, the trade mark is in fact adapted to dis tinguish as
aforesaid.
[Section 10
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Capability of
distinguishing requisite for registration in Part B
11 (1) In
order for a trade mark to be registrable in Part B of the register it must be
capable, in relation to the goods in respect of
which it is registered or
proposed to be registered, of distinguishing goods with which the proprietor of
the trade mark is or
may be connected in the course of trade from goods in the
case of which no such connection sub sists, either generally or, where
the
trade mark is registered or proposed to be registered subject to limitations,
in relation to use within the extent of the registration.
(2) In
determining whether a trade mark is capable of distin guishing as aforesaid the
Registrar may have regard to the extent to which
—
(a) the trade mark is inherently capable of
distinguishing as aforesaid; and
(b) by reason of the use of the trade mark or of
any other circumstances, the trade mark is in fact capable of dis tinguishing
as aforesaid.
(3) A
trade mark may be registered in Part B notwithstanding any registration in Part
A in the name of the same proprietor of the same
trade mark or any part or
parts thereof.
[Section 11 modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective
18 June 1993]
Restrictions on
registration
12 (1) A
mark —
(a) the use of which would be likely to deceive or
cause confusion;
(b) the use of which would be contrary to law;
(c) which comprises or contains scandalous matter;
or
(d) which would otherwise be not entitled to
protection in a court of justice,
shall not be
registered as a trade mark.
(2) The
Registrar may refuse to accept an application for the registration of a trade
mark which contains or consists of any of the
fol lowing marks or a mark so
nearly resembling any of those marks as to be likely to be taken for that mark
—
(a) the word or words "Patent", "By
Royal Letters Patent", "Registered", "Registered
Design",
"Copyright", "To counterfeit this is a
forgery", or a word or words to the like effect;
(b) a representation of the Sovereign or of a
member of the Royal Family;
(c) a representation of —
(i) the Royal Arms, crests, armorial
bearings, in signia or devices;
(ii) any of the Royal crowns; or
(iii) the national flag of a country or
territory in the Commonwealth;
(d) the word "Royal" or any other word,
or any letters or de vice, likely to lead persons to think that the applicant
has
or has had Royal or Government patronage or au thority;
(e) a representation of the Arms, or of any flag or
seal, of Bermuda;
(f) a representation of the Arms or emblem of a
city or town in Bermuda or of a public authority or public institution in
Bermuda;
(g) a mark which is specified in the regulations as
being, for the purposes of this section, a prohibited mark.
(3) The
regulations may provide that a mark in relation to which subsection (2) applies
(not being a registered trade mark or a mark
in use in good faith as a trade
mark) shall not be used as a trade mark or as part of a trade mark, either at
all or after a date
specified in the regu lations.
(4) Where
a person makes an application for registration of a trade mark which consists
of or includes the name or a representation
of a living person or of a person
believed by the Registrar to be living, the Registrar may require the applicant
to furnish him
with the consent of that person to the name or representation
appearing on the trade mark before he proceeds with the registration
of the
trade mark.
(5) No
word which is the commonly used and accepted name of any single chemical
element or single chemical compound, as distin guished
from a mixture, shall be
registered as a trade mark in respect of a chemical substance or preparation,
and any such registration
in force at 1 July 1975, or thereafter shall,
notwithstanding anything in section 14, be deemed for the purposes of section
34
to be an entry made in the register without sufficient cause, or an entry
wrongly remaining on the register, as the circumstances
may require:
Provided that this subsection shall
not have effect in relation to a word which is used to denote only a brand or
make of the element
or compound as made by the proprietor or a registered user
of the trade mark, as distinguished from the element or compound as made
by oth ers,
and in association with a suitable name or description open to the public use.
Prohibition of
registration of identical and resembling trade marks
13 (1) Subject
to subsection (2), no trade mark shall be registered in respect of any goods or
description of goods that is identical with
or nearly resembles a mark
belonging to a different proprietor and already on the register in respect of—
(a) the same goods,
(b) the same description of goods, or
(c) services or a description of services which are
associated with those goods or goods of that description.
(2) In
case of honest concurrent use, or of other special cir cumstances which in the
opinion of the Court or the Registrar make it
proper so to do, the Court or the
Registrar may permit the registration by more than one proprietor, in respect
of—
(a) the same goods,
(b) the same description of goods, or
(c) goods and services or descriptions of goods and
services which are associated with each other,
of marks that are
identical or nearly resemble each other, subject to such conditions and
limitations, if any, as the Court or the
Registrar, as the case may be, may
think it right to impose.
(3) Where
separate applications are made by different persons to be registered as
proprietors respectively of marks that are identical
or nearly resemble each
other, in respect of—
(a) the same goods,
(b) the same description of goods, or
(c) goods and services or descriptions of goods and
services which are associated with each other,
the Registrar may
refuse to register any of them until their rights have been determined by the
Court, or have been settled by agreement
in a manner approved by him or, on an
appeal, by the Court.
[Section 13
modified by First Schedule and amended by Second Schedule of 1991:39 effective
18 June 1993]
Registration in
Part A to be conclusive as to validity after seven years
14 (1) In
all legal proceedings relating to a trade mark registered in Part A of the
register (including applications under section 34)
the origi nal registration
in Part A of the register of the trade mark shall, after the expiration of
seven years from the date
of that registration, be taken to be valid in all
respects unless —
(a) that registration was obtained by fraud; or
(b) the trade mark offends against section 12(1) or
section 12(5).
(2) Nothing in section 6(1) shall be
construed as making applicable to a trade mark, as being a trade mark
registered in Part B of the
regis ter, the foregoing provisions of this section
relating to a trade mark reg istered in Part A of the register.
Registration
subject to disclaimer
15 (1) If
a trade mark —
(a) contains any part not separately registered by
the pro prietor as a trade mark; or
(b) contains matter common to the trade or
otherwise of a non-distinctive character,
the Registrar or
the Court, in deciding whether the trade mark shall be entered or shall remain
on the register, may require, as
a condition of its being on the register —
(i) that the proprietor shall disclaim any
right to the exclusive use of any part of the trade mark, or to the exclusive
use of all
or any portion of any such matter as aforesaid, to the exclusive use
of which they hold him not to be entitled; or
(ii) that the proprietor shall make such
other dis claimer as they may consider necessary for the purpose of defining
his rights under
the regis tration.
(2) No
such disclaimer shall affect any rights of the proprietor of a trade mark
except such as arise out of the registration of the
trade mark in respect of
which the disclaimer is made.
[Section 15
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Words used as
name or description of an article or substance
16 (1) Subject
to this section the registration of a trade mark shall not be deemed to have
become invalid by reason only of any use, after
the date of registration, of a
word or words which the trade mark con tains, or of which it consists as the
name or description
of an article or substance.
(2) Subsection
(3) shall have effect where —
(a) there is a well-known and established use of
the word or words as the name or description of the article or sub stance by a
person
or persons carrying on a trade therein, not being use in relation to
goods connected in the course of trade with the proprietor
or a registered user
of the trade mark; or
(b) the article or substance was formerly
manufactured un der a patent, that a period of two years or more after the
cesser of the patent
has elapsed, and that the word or words is or are the only
practicable name or description of the article or substance.
(3) Where
the facts mentioned in subsection (2)(a) or (b) are proved with respect to any
word or words, then—
(a) if the trade mark consists solely of that word
or those words, the registration of the trade mark, so far as re gards
registration
in respect of the article or substance in question or of any goods
of the same description, shall be deemed for the purposes of
section 34 to be
an entry wrongly remaining on the register;
(b) if the trade mark contains that word or those
words and other matter, the Court or the Registrar, in deciding whether the
trade
mark shall remain on the register, so far as regards registration in
respect of the article or substance in question and of any
goods of the same de scription,
may in case of a decision in favour of its re maining on the register require
as a condition thereof
that the proprietor shall disclaim any right to the
exclu sive use in relation to that article or substance and any goods of the
same description of that word or those words, so however, that no disclaimer on
the register shall affect any rights of the proprietor
of a trade mark except
such as arise out of the registration of the trade mark in respect of which the
disclaimer is made.
(4) For
the purposes of any other legal proceedings relating to the trade mark —
(a) if the trade mark consists solely of that word
or those words, all rights of the proprietor, whether under the common law or
by
registration, to the exclusive use of the trade mark in relation to the
article or substance in question or to any goods of the
same description; or
(b) if the trade mark contains that word or those
words and other matter, all such rights of the proprietor to the ex clusive use
of
that word or those words in such relation as aforesaid,
shall be deemed to
have ceased on the date at which the use mentioned in subsection (2)(a) first
became well known and established,
or at the expiration of the period of two
years mentioned in subsection (2)(b).
[Section 16 modified by First Schedule of
1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Effect of
limitation as to colour and of absence thereof
17 (1) A
trade mark may be limited in whole or in part to one or more specified colours,
and in any such case the fact that it is so limited
shall be taken into
consideration by the Registrar or the Court in decid ing on the distinctive
character of the trade mark.
(2) If
and so far as a trade mark is registered without limitation of colour, it shall
be deemed to be registered for all colours.
PROCEDURE FOR, AND DURATION OF, REGISTRATION
Application for
registration
18 (1) Any
person claiming to be the proprietor of a trade mark used or proposed to be
used by him who is desirous of registering it must
apply in writing to the
Registrar in the prescribed manner for reg istration either in Part A or Part B
of the register.
(2) Subject
to this Act, the Registrar may refuse the applica tion, or may accept it
absolutely or subject to such amendments, modifi
cations, conditions or
limitations, if any, as he may think fit.
(3) In
the case of an application for registration of a trade mark in Part A of the
register, the Registrar may, if the applicant is
willing, in stead of refusing
the application, treat it as an application for registra tion in Part B and
deal with the application
accordingly.
(4) Where
a person makes application for the registration of a trade mark and satisfies
the Registrar that he, or his predecessor in
title, has registered the mark
under the Trade Marks Act 1938, of the United Kingdom, as amended from time to
time or under any
legislation of the United Kingdom that replaces that Act, the
Registrar may accept the application if it is for registration on
the same
basis and subject to the same conditions and limitations as in the United
Kingdom; but upon advertisement of the application
in ac cordance with section
19 any person may, in accordance with that sec tion oppose the registration as
if the trade mark were
one to which this subsection does not apply.
(4A) Where
a person makes application for the registration of a trade mark and the country
of origin of the applicant is not Bermuda,
then the country of origin of the
applicant shall be the country where the applicant has a bona fide and
effective industrial or
commercial establishment in that country, or if he has
not such an establishment, the country in which he is domiciled, or if he
is
not domiciled in that country, the country of which he is a national.
(4B) A
mark duly registered in the country indicated in subsection (4A) may be
registered in Bermuda by an applicant whose country of
origin is not Bermuda
and the application shall be accompanied by a certification or a certified copy
of the registration of the
country indicated in subsection (4A).
(4C) The
registration of a mark under subsection (4B) shall be independent of the
registration in the country of origin of the applicant
and the registrability,
duration, validity or transfer in Bermuda of such registration shall be
governed by the provisions of this
Act.
(4D) For
the removal of doubt this Act applies to any person whose country of origin is
not Bermuda.
(5) In
the case of a refusal or conditional acceptance, the Reg istrar shall, if
required by the applicant, state in writing the grounds
of his decision and the
materials used by him in arriving thereat, and the decision shall be subject to
appeal to the Court.
(6) An
appeal under this section shall be made in the pre scribed manner, and on the
appeal, the Court shall, if required, hear the
applicant and the Registrar, and
shall make an order determining whether, and subject to what amendments,
modifications, conditions
or limitations, if any, the application is to be
accepted.
(7) Appeals
under this section shall be heard on the materials stated as aforesaid by the
Registrar, and no further grounds of objection
to the acceptance of the application
shall be allowed to be taken by the Registrar, other than those so stated as
aforesaid by
him, except by leave of the Court. Where any further grounds of
objections are taken, the ap plicant shall be entitled to withdraw
his
application without payment of costs on giving notice as prescribed.
(8) The
Registrar or the Court, as the case may be, may at any time, whether before or
after acceptance, correct any error in or in
con nection with the application,
or may permit the applicant to amend his application upon such terms as they
may think fit.
[Section 18
amended by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Opposition to
registration
19 (1) When
an application for registration of a trade mark has been accepted, whether
absolutely or subject to conditions or limitations,
the Registrar shall, as
soon as may be after acceptance, cause the appli cation as accepted to be
advertised in the prescribed
manner, and the advertisement shall set forth all
conditions and limitations subject to which the application has been accepted:
Provided that the Registrar may
cause an application to be ad vertised before acceptance if it is made under
section 10(1)(e), or
in any other case where it appears to him that it is
expedient by reason of any exceptional circumstances so to do, and where an
application has been so advertised the Registrar may, if he thinks fit,
advertise it again when it has been accepted but shall
not be bound so to do.
(2) Any
person may within the prescribed time from the date of the advertisement of an
application give notice to the Registrar of oppo
sition to the registration.
(3) The
notice shall be given in writing in the prescribed man ner, and shall include a
statement of the grounds of opposition.
(4) The
Registrar shall send a copy of the notice to the appli cant, and within the
prescribed time after receipt thereof the applicant
shall send to the
Registrar, in the prescribed manner, a counter-state ment of the grounds on
which he relies for his application,
and, if he does not do so, he shall be deemed
to have abandoned his application.
(5) If
the applicant sends such a counter-statement as afore said, the Registrar shall
furnish a copy thereof to the persons giving
no tice of opposition, and shall,
after hearing the parties, if so required, and considering the evidence, decide
whether, and
subject to what conditions or limitations, if any, registration is
to be permitted.
(6) The
decision of the Registrar shall be subject to the appeal to the Court.
(7) An
appeal under this section shall be made in the pre scribed manner, and on the
appeal the Court shall, if required, hear the parties
and the Registrar, and
shall make an order determining whether, and subject to what conditions or
limitations, if any, registration
is to be permitted.
(8) On
the hearing of an appeal under this section any party may, either in the manner
prescribed or by special leave of the Court,
bring forward further material for
the consideration of the Court.
(9) On
an appeal under this section no further grounds of ob jection to the
registration of a trade mark shall be allowed to be taken
by the opponent or
the Registrar, other than those so stated as aforesaid by the opponent, except
by leave of the Court. Where
any further grounds of objection are taken, the
applicant shall be entitled to withdraw his appli cation without payment of the
costs of the opponent on giving notice as prescribed.
(10) On
an appeal under this section the Court may, after hear ing the Registrar,
permit the trade mark proposed to be registered to
be modified in any manner
not substantially affecting the identity thereof, but in any such case the
trade mark as so modified
shall be advertised in the prescribed manner before
being registered.
(11) If
a person giving notice of opposition or an applicant sending a
counter-statement after receipt of a copy of such a notice, or
an appellant,
neither resides nor carries on business in Bermuda the Registrar or the Court
may require him to give security for
costs of the proceedings before them
relative to the opposition or to the appeal, as the case may be, and in default
of such security
being duly given may treat the opposition or application, or
the appeal, as the case may be, as abandoned.
(12) [deleted by 1991:39]
(13) [deleted by 1991:39]
Protection of
marks registered in country of origin
20 The Registrar may refuse to register
any trade mark if it is proved to his satisfaction by the person opposing the
application for
reg istration that such mark is identical with, or so nearly
resembles as to be calculated to deceive or cause confusion, a trade
mark which
is already registered in respect of the same goods or description of goods in a
country or place from which such goods
originate:
Provided that no application to
register shall be refused under this section —
(a) if the applicant proves that he or his
predecessors in business have in Bermuda, in relation to such goods,
continuously used the
trade mark for the registration of which he has made
application from a date anterior to the date of the registration of the other
mark in such country or place of origin; or
(b) if the opponent does not give an undertaking to
the sat isfaction of the Registrar that he will, within three months from the
giving
of the notice of opposition, apply for registration in Bermuda of the
trade mark so regis tered in the country or place of origin,
and will take all
necessary steps to complete such registration.
Registration
21 (1) When
an application for registration of a trade mark in Part A or in Part B of the
register has been accepted and either—
(a) the application has not been opposed and the
time for notice of opposition has expired; or
(b) the application has been opposed and the
opposition has been decided in favour of the applicant,
the Registrar
shall, unless the application has been accepted in error, register the trade
mark in Part A or Part B, as the case
may be, and the trade mark, when
registered, shall be registered as of the date of the ap plication for
registration, and that
date shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be
the date of registration.
(2) On
the registration of a trade mark the Registrar shall issue to the applicant a
certificate in the prescribed form of the registration
thereof under the hand
and seal of the Registrar.
(3) Where
registration of a trade mark is not completed within twelve months from the
date of the application by reason of default on
the part of the applicant, the
Registrar may, after giving notice of the non-completion to the applicant in
writing, treat the
application as abandoned unless it is completed within the
time specified in that behalf in the notice.
Removal of
trade mark from register on proof of prior registration in country of origin
22 The Court may, on application made
within seven years from the registration of a trade mark in Bermuda by any
person aggrieved by
such registration, remove such trade mark from the register
if it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court that such trade mark
is
identical with, or so nearly resembles as to be calculated to deceive or cause
confusion, a trade mark which was, prior to the
registration in Bermuda of the
first-mentioned trade mark, registered (in respect of goods of the same de scription
as those in respect of which the
first-mentioned trade mark is registered in Bermuda) in a country or place from
which such goods originate:
Provided that no trade mark shall be
removed from the register under this section in the following cases —
(a) if the proprietor of the other trade mark
consented to the registration in Bermuda of the first-mentioned trade mark; or
(b) if the proprietor of the trade mark registered
in Bermuda proves that he or his predecessors in business have continuously
used
such trade mark in Bermuda in con nection with such goods as aforesaid
from a date ante rior to the date of the registration of
the other trade mark
in the country or place of origin; or
(c) unless the applicant proves either that within
the five years immediately preceding the making of the applica tion under this
section
there has been bona fide user in connection with such goods as
aforesaid in Bermuda of the trade mark registered in the country
or place of
ori gin, or that the special circumstances of the trade ac count for the
non-user of such trade mark in Bermuda within
the same period, or that the
trade mark so regis tered in the country or place of origin was first
registered there within the
like period of five years, and in either event
gives an undertaking to the satisfaction of the Registrar that he will within
three
months from the making of the application under this section apply for
the registration in Bermuda of the trade mark so regis tered
in the country or
place of origin, and will take all necessary steps to complete the
registration.
Duration and
renewal of registration
23 (1) The
registration of a trade mark shall be for a period of seven years, but may be
renewed from time to time in accordance with this
section:
Provided that, in relation to a
registration as of a date before 1 July 1975, this subsection shall have effect
with the substitution
of a pe riod of fourteen years for such period of seven
years.
(2) The
Registrar shall, on application made by the registered proprietor of a trade
mark within the prescribed period, renew the regis
tration of the trade mark
for a period of fourteen years from the date of expiration of the original
registration or of the last
renewal of registra tion, as the case may be, which
date is in this section referred to as "the expiration of the last
registration".
(3) At
the prescribed time before the expiration of the last reg istration of a trade
mark, the Registrar shall send notice to the registered
proprietor of the date
of expiration and the conditions as to payment of fees and otherwise upon which
a renewal of registration
may be ob tained, and, if at the expiration of the
time prescribed in that behalf those conditions have not been duly complied
with, the Registrar may remove the trade mark from the register, subject to
such conditions, if any, as to its restoration to the
register as may be
prescribed.
(4) Where
a trade mark has been removed from the register for non-payment of the fee for
renewal, it shall, nevertheless, for the purpose
of any application for the
registration of a trade mark during one year next after the date of the
renewal, be deemed to be a trade
mark that is already on the register:
Provided that the foregoing
provisions of this subsection shall not have effect where the Registrar or the
Court, as the case may
be, is satisfied either —
(a) that there has been no bona fide trade use of
the trade mark that has been removed during the two years im mediately
preceding its
removal; or
(b) that no deception or confusion would be likely
to arise from the use of the trade mark that is the subject of the application
for
registration by reason of any previous use of the trade mark that has been
removed.
[Section 23
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Registration of
parts of trade marks and of trade marks as a series
24 (1) Where
the proprietor of a trade mark claims to be entitled to the exclusive use of
any part thereof separately, he may apply to
register the whole and any such
part as separate trade marks.
(2) Each
such separate trade mark must satisfy all the condi tions of an independent
trade mark and shall, subject to sections 26(2)
and 32(2), have all the
incidents of an independent trade mark.
(3) Where
a person claiming to be the proprietor of several trade marks, in respect of
the same goods or description of goods, which,
while resembling each other in
the material particulars thereof, yet differ in respect of —
(a) statements of the goods in relation to which
they are re spectively used or proposed to be used; or
(b) statements of number, price, quality or names
of places; or
(c) other matter of a non-distinctive character
which does not substantially affect the identity of the trade mark; or
(d) colour,
seeks to register
those trade marks, they may be registered as a series in one registration.
Associated
trade marks
25 (1) Where
a trade mark that is registered, or is the subject of an application for
registration, in respect of any goods is identical
with another trade mark that
is registered, or is the subject of an application for registration, in the
name of the same proprietor
in respect of the same goods or description of
goods, or so nearly resembles it as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion
if
used by a person other than the proprietor, the Registrar may at any time
require that the trade marks shall be entered on the register
as associated
trade marks.
(2) Where
a trade mark and any part or parts thereof are, by virtue of section 24(1)
registered as separate trade marks in the name
of the same proprietor, they
shall be deemed to be, and shall be registered as, associated trade marks.
(3) All
trade marks that are, by virtue of section 24(2) regis-tered as a series in one
registration shall be deemed to be, and shall
be registered as, associated
trade marks.
(4) On
application made by the registered proprietor of two or more trade marks
registered as associated trade marks, the Registrar
may dissolve the
association as respects any of them if he is satisfied that there would be no
likelihood of deception or confusion
being caused if that trade mark was used
by another person in relation to any of the goods in respect of which it is
registered,
and may amend the register ac cordingly.
(5) Subject
to section 26(5) trade marks registered as associ ated marks shall be deemed to
have been registered as separate trade marks.
(6) Any
decision of the Registrar under this section shall be subject to appeal to the
Court.
ASSIGNMENT AND
TRANSMISSION
Powers of, and
restrictions on assignment and transmission
26 (1) Notwithstanding
any rule of law or equity to the contrary, a registered trade mark shall be,
and shall be deemed always to have
been, assignable and transmissible either in
connection with the goodwill of a business or not.
(2) A
registered trade mark shall be, and shall be deemed al ways to have been,
assignable and transmissible in respect either of all
the goods in respect of
which it is registered, or was registered, as the case may be, or of some (but
not all) of those goods.
(3) The
provisions of subsections (1) and (2) shall have effect in the case of an unregistered
trade mark used in relation to any goods
as they have effect in the case of a
registered trade mark registered in re spect of any goods, if at the time of
the assignment
or transmission of the unregistered trade mark it is or was used
in the same business as a registered trade mark, and if it is or
was assigned
or transmitted at the same time and to the same person as that registered trade
mark and in respect of goods all of
which are goods in relation to which the
unregis tered trade mark is or was used in that business and in respect of
which that
registered trade mark is or was assigned or transmitted.
(4) Notwithstanding
anything in subsections (1), (2) and (3), a trade mark shall not be, or be
deemed to have been, assignable or transmissible
in a case in which as a result
of an assignment or trans mission there would in the circumstances subsist, or
have subsisted, whether
under the common law or by registration, exclusive
rights in more than one of the persons concerned to the use, in relation to
(a) the same goods,
(b) the same description of goods, or
(c) goods and services or descriptions of goods and
services which are associated with each other,
of trade marks
nearly resembling each other or of identical trade marks, if, having regard to
the similarity of the goods or the
association of the goods and services or
description of goods and services and to the similarity of the trade marks, the
use of
the trade marks in exer cise of those rights would be, or have been,
likely to deceive or cause confusion.
(5) Trade
marks that are registered as, or that are deemed by virtue of this Act to be,
associated trade marks shall be assignable and
transmissible only as a whole
and not separately.
(6) Where
an assignment in respect of any goods of a trade mark that is at the time of
the assignment used in a business in those goods
is made, on or after 1 July
1975, otherwise than in connection with the goodwill of that business, the
assignment shall not take
effect until the following requirements have been
satisfied; that is to say, the assignee must, not later than the expiration of
six months from the date on which the assignment is made or within such
extended period, if any, as the Registrar may allow, apply
to him for
directions with respect to the advertisement of the assignment, and must
advertise it in such form and manner and within
such period as the Registrar
may direct.
[Section 26
modified by First Schedule and amended by Second Schedule of 1991:39 effective
18 June 1993]
Power of
registered proprietor to assign and give receipts
27 Subject to this Act, the person for the
time being entered in the register as proprietor of a trade mark shall, subject
to any rights
ap pearing from the register to be vested in any other person,
have power to assign the trade mark, and to give effectual receipts
for any
considera tion for an assignment thereof.
Registration of
assignments and transmissions
28 (1) Where
a person becomes entitled by assignment or trans mission to a registered trade
mark, he shall make application to the Registrar
to register his title, and the
Registrar shall, on receipt of the application and on proof of title to his
satisfaction, register
him as the proprietor of the trade mark in respect of
the goods in respect of which the assignment or transmission has effect, and
shall cause particulars of the assignment or transmission to be entered on the
register.
(2) Any
decision of the Registrar under this section shall be subject to appeal to the
Court.
(3) Except
for the purposes of an appeal under this section or of an application under
section 34, a document or instrument in respect
of which no entry has been made
in the register in accordance with sub section (1) shall not, unless the Court
otherwise directs,
be admitted in evidence in any Court in proof of the title
to a trade mark.
USE AND NON-USE
Removal from
register and imposition of limitations on grounds of non-use
29 (1) Subject
to section 30, the Court or the Registrar may, on application by a person
aggrieved, order a trade mark to be removed from
the register in respect of any
goods in respect of which it is regis tered on the grounds —
(a) that the trade mark was registered without any
bona fide intention on the part of the applicant for registration that it
should
be used in relation to those goods by him, and that there has in fact
been no bona fide use of the trade mark in relation to those
goods by any
proprietor thereof for the time being up to the date one month be fore the date
of the application; or
(b) that up to the date one month before the date
of the ap plication a continuous period of five years or longer elapsed during
which
the trade mark was a registered trade mark and during which there was no
bona fide use thereof in relation to those goods by any
proprietor thereof for
the time being.
(2) Except
where the applicant has been permitted under sec tion 13(2) to register an
identical or nearly resembling trade mark in re
spect of the goods in question
or where the Court or the Registrar is of opinion that he might properly be
permitted so to register
such a trade mark the Court or the Registrar, as the
case may be, may refuse an ap plication made under subsection (1) in relation
to any goods, if it is shown that there has been, before the relevant date or
during the rele vant period, as the case may be,
bona fide use of the mark by
the proprietor thereof for the time being in relation to—
(i) goods of the same description; or
(ii) services associated with those goods or
goods of that description,
being goods or, as
the case may be, services in respect of which the mark is registered.
(3) An
applicant shall not be entitled to rely for the purposes of subsection (1)(b),
on any non-use of a trade mark that is shown to
have been due to special
circumstances in the trade and not to any intention not to use or to abandon
the trade mark in relation
to the goods to which the application relates.
[Section 29
modified by First Schedule and amended by Second Schedule of 1991:39 effective
18 June 1993]
Defensive
registration of well known trade marks
30 (1) Where
a trade mark consisting of an invented word or in vented words has become so
well known as respects any goods in respect of
which it is registered and in
relation to which it has been used that the use thereof in relation to other
goods would be likely
to be taken as indicating a connection in the course of
trade between those goods and a person entitled to use the trade mark in
relation to the first-mentioned goods, then, notwithstanding that the
proprietor registered in respect of the first-mentioned goods
does not use or
propose to use the trade mark in relation to those other goods and
notwithstanding anything in section 29, the
trade mark may, on the application
in the prescribed manner of the proprietor registered in respect of the
first-mentioned goods,
be reg istered in his name in respect of those other
goods as a defensive trade mark and, while so registered, shall not be liable
to be taken off the reg ister in respect of those goods under section 29.
(2) The
registered proprietor of a trade mark may apply for the registration thereof in
respect of any goods as a defensive trade mark
notwithstanding that it is
already registered in his name in respect of those goods otherwise than as a
defensive trade mark, or
may apply for the registration thereof in respect of
any goods otherwise than as a de fensive trade mark notwithstanding that it
is
already registered in his name in respect of those goods as a defensive trade
mark, in lieu in each case of the existing registration.
(3) A
trade mark registered as a defensive trade mark and that trade mark as
otherwise registered in the name of the same proprietor
shall, notwithstanding
that the respective registrations are in respect of different goods, be deemed
to be, and shall be registered
as, associated trade marks.
(4) On
application by any person aggrieved to the Court or, at the option of the
applicant and subject to section 50, to the Registrar,
the registration of a
trade mark as a defensive trade mark may be can-celled on the ground that the
requirements of subsection
(1) are no longer satisfied in respect of any goods
in respect of which the trade mark is registered in the name of the same
proprietor
otherwise than as a defensive trade mark, or may be cancelled as
respects any goods in re spect of which it is registered as a defensive
trade
mark on the ground that there is no longer any likelihood that the use of the
trade mark in relation to those goods would
be taken as giving the indication
men tioned in subsection (1).
(5) The
Registrar may at any time cancel the registration as a defensive trade mark of
a trade mark of which there is no longer any
registration in the name of the
same proprietor otherwise than as a de fensive trade mark.
(6) Except
as otherwise expressly provided in this section, the provisions of this Act
shall apply in respect of the registration of
trade marks as defensive trade
marks and of trade marks so registered as they apply in other cases.
[Section 30
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Registered
users
31 (1) Subject
to this section, a person other than the proprietor of a trade mark may be
registered as a registered user thereof in respect
of all or any of the goods
in respect of which it is registered (otherwise than as a defensive trade mark)
and either with or without
conditions or re strictions.
(2) The
use of a trade mark by a registered user thereof in rela tion to goods with
which he is connected in the course of trade and
in re spect of which for the
time being the trade mark remains registered and he is registered as a
registered user, being use
such as to comply with any conditions or
restrictions to which his registration is subject, is in this Act referred to
as the "permitted
use" thereof.
(3) The
permitted use of a trade mark shall be deemed to be use by the proprietor
thereof, and shall be deemed not to be use by a person
other than the
proprietor, for the purposes of section 29 and for any other purpose for which
such use is material under this Act
or at common law.
(4) Subject
to any agreement subsisting between the parties, a registered user of a trade
mark shall be entitled to call upon the propri
etor thereof to take proceedings
to prevent infringement thereof, and, if the proprietor refuses or neglects to
do so within two
months after being so called upon, the registered user may
institute proceedings for in fringement in his own name as if he were
the
proprietor, making the pro prietor a defendant.
(5) A
proprietor added as defendant in accordance with sub section (4) shall not be
liable for any costs unless he enters an appear
ance and takes part in the
proceedings.
(6) Where
it is proposed that a person should be registered as a registered user of a
trade mark, the proprietor and the proposed regis
tered user must apply in
writing to the Registrar in the prescribed man ner and must furnish him with a
statutory declaration made
by the pro prietor, or by some person authorised to
act on his behalf and approved by the Registrar —
(a) giving particulars of the relationship,
existing or pro posed, between the proprietor and the proposed regis tered
user, including
particulars showing the degree of control by the proprietor
over the permitted use which their relationship will confer and whether
it is a
term of their relationship that the proposed registered user shall be the sole
registered user or that there shall be any
other restriction as to persons for
whose registration as registered users application may be made;
(b) stating the goods in respect of which
registration is pro posed;
(c) stating any conditions or restrictions proposed
with re spect to the characteristics of the goods, to the mode or place of
permitted
use, or to any other matter; and
(d) stating whether the permitted use is to be for
a period or without limit of period, and, if for a period, the duration
thereof,
and with such
further documents, information or evidence as may be required under the rules
or by the Registrar.
(7) When
the requirements of subsection (6) have been com plied with, if the Registrar,
after considering the information furnished
to him under that subsection, is
satisfied that in all the circumstances the use of the trade mark in relation
to the proposed
goods or any of them by the proposed registered user subject to
any conditions or restrictions which the Registrar thinks proper
would not be
contrary to the public interest, the Registrar may register the proposed
registered user as a registered user in respect
of the goods as to which he is
so satisfied sub ject as aforesaid.
(8) The
Registrar shall refuse an application under the forego ing provisions of this
section if it appears to him that the grant thereof
would tend to facilitate
trafficking in a trade mark.
(9) The
Registrar shall, if so required by an applicant, take steps for securing that
information given for the purposes of an applica
tion under the foregoing
provisions of this section (other than matter entered in the register) is not
disclosed to rivals in trade.
(10) Without
prejudice to section 34, the registration of a person as registered user —
(a) may be varied by the Registrar as regards the
goods in respect of which, or any conditions or restrictions sub ject to which,
it
has effect, on the application in writing of the registered proprietor of
the trade mark to which the registration relates;
(b) may be cancelled by the Registrar on the
application in writing of the registered proprietor or of the registered user
or of any
other registered user of the trade mark; or
(c) may be cancelled by the Registrar on the
application in writing of any person on any of the following grounds—
(i) that the registered user has used the
trade mark otherwise than by way of the permitted use, or in such a way as to
cause, or be
likely to cause, deception or confusion;
(ii) that the proprietor or the registered
user mis represented, or failed to disclose, some fact ma terial to the
application for registration,
or that the circumstances have materially changed
since the date of the registration;
(iii) that the registration ought not to have
been ef fected having regard to rights vested in the ap plicant by virtue of a
contract
in the perfor mance of which he is interested.
(11) Provision
shall be made by regulations for the notification of the registration of a
person as a registered user to any other registered
user of the trade mark, and
for the notification of an application under subsection (10) to the registered
proprietor and each
registered user (not being the applicant) of the trade
mark, and for giving to the applicant on such an application, and to all
persons to whom such an application is notified and who intervene in the
proceedings in accordance with the regulations an opportunity
of being heard.
(12) The
Registrar may at any time cancel the registration of a person as a registered
user of a trade mark in respect of any goods in
re spect of which the trade
mark is no longer registered.
(13) Any
decision of the Registrar under the foregoing provisions of this section shall
be subject to appeal to the Court.
(14) Nothing
in this section shall confer on a registered user of a trade mark any
assignable or transmissible right to the use thereof.
[Section 31
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Proposed use of
trade mark by corporation to be constituted, etc.
31A (1) No
application for the registration of a trade mark in respect of any goods shall
be refused, nor shall permission for such registration
be withheld, on the
ground only that it appears that the applicant does not use or propose to use
the trade mark—
(a) if the Court or the Registrar is satisfied that
a body corporate is about to be constituted, and that the applicant intends to
assign
the trade mark to the corporation with a view to the use thereof in relation
to those goods by the corporation; or
(b) if the application is accompanied by an
application for the registration of a person as a registered user of the trade
mark, and
the Court or the Registrar is satisfied that the proprietor intends
it to be used by that person in relation to those goods and
the Court or the
Registrar is also satisfied that that person will be registered as a registered
user thereof immediately after
the registration of the trade mark.
(2) The
provisions of section 29 have effect, in relation to a trade mark registered
under the power conferred by subsection (1), as
if for the reference, in
subsection (1)(a), to an intention on the part of an applicant for registration
that a trade mark should
be used by him there were substituted a reference to
an intention on his part that it should be used by the corporation or
registered
user concerned.
(3) The
Court or the Registrar may, as a condition of the exercise of the power
conferred by subsection (1) in favour of an applicant
who relies on intention
to assign to a corporation as aforesaid, require him to give security for the
costs of any proceedings
before the Court or the Registrar relative to any
opposition or appeal, and in default of such security being duly given may
treat
the application as abandoned.
(4) Where
a trade mark is registered in respect of any goods under the power conferred by
subsection (1) in the name of an applicant
who relies on intention to assign to
a corporation as aforesaid, then, unless within such period as may be
prescribed, or within
such further period not exceeding six months as the
Registrar may on application being made to him in the prescribed manner allow,
the corporation has been registered as the proprietor of the trade mark in
respect of those goods, the registration shall cease
to have effect in respect
thereof at the expiration of that period, and the Registrar shall amend the
register accordingly.
[Section 31A
inserted by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993}
Use of one of
associated or substantially identical trade marks equivalent to use of another
32 (1) Where
under this Act use of a registered trade mark is required to be proved for any
purpose, the Court or the Registrar, as the
case may be, may, if and so far as
they think right, accept use of an associated registered trade mark, or of the
trade mark with
additions or alterations not substantially affecting its
identity, as an equivalent for the use required to be proved.
(2) The
use of the whole of a registered trade mark shall for the purposes of this Act
be deemed to be also a use of any registered
trade mark, being a part thereof
registered in the name of the same proprietor by virtue of section 24(1).
Use of trade
mark for export trade
33 The application in Bermuda of a trade
mark to goods to be ex ported from Bermuda, and any other act done in Bermuda
in relation
to goods to be so exported which, if done in relation to goods to
be sold or otherwise traded in within Bermuda, would constitute
use of the
trade mark therein, shall be deemed to constitute use of the trade mark in re lation
to those goods for any purpose
for which such use is material un der this Act
or at common law.
[Section 33
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
RECTIFICATION AND
CORRECTION OF THE REGISTER
General power
to rectify entries in register
34 (1) Any
person aggrieved by the non-insertion in or omission from the register of any
entry, or by any entry made in the register with
out sufficient cause, or by
any entry wrongly remaining on the register, or by any error or defect in any
entry in the register,
may apply to the Court or, at the option of the
applicant and subject to section 50, to the Registrar, and the Court or the
Registrar,
as the case may be, may make such order for making, expunging or
varying the entry as they may think fit.
(2) The
Court or the Registrar may in any proceeding under this section decide any
question that it may be necessary or expedient to
decide in connection with the
rectification of the register.
(3) In
case of fraud in the registration, assignment or transmis sion of a registered
trade mark, the Registrar may himself apply to
the Court under this section.
(4) Any
order of the Court rectifying the register shall direct that notice of the
rectification shall be served in the prescribed manner
on the Registrar, and
the Registrar shall, on receipt of the notice rectify the register accordingly.
(5) The
power to rectify the register conferred by this section shall include power to
remove a registration in Part A of the register
to Part B.
Powers to
expunge or vary registration for breach of condition
35 On application by any person aggrieved
to the Court, or, at the option of the applicant and subject to section 50, to
the Registrar,
or on application by the Registrar to the Court, the Court or
the Registrar, as the case may be, may make such order as they may
think fit
for ex punging or varying the registration of a trade mark on the ground of any
contravention of, or failure to observe
a condition entered on the register in
relation thereto.
Correction of
register
36 (1) The
Registrar may, on application by the registered propri etor of a trade mark,
amend or alter the register by —
(a) correcting an error in the entry of a trade
mark in the register;
(b) entering a change in the name or address of the
registered proprietor;
(c) cancelling the entry of a trade mark in the
register;
(d) amending the specification of the goods in
respect of which the trade mark is registered but so that the amendment does
not in any
way extend the rights given by the registration of the trade mark;
or
(e) entering a disclaimer or memorandum relating to
the trade mark which does not in any way extend the rights given by the
registration
of the trade mark,
and may make any
consequential amendment or alteration in the certifi cate of registration, and
for that purpose may require the
certificate of registration to be produced to
him.
(2) The
Registrar may, on request made by a registered user of a trade mark, correct an
error, or enter a change, in the name or address
of the registered user.
(3) An
appeal shall lie to the Court from a decision of the Reg istrar under
subsection (1).
[Section 36
amended by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Alteration of
registered trade mark
37 (1) The
registered proprietor of a trade mark may apply to the Registrar for leave to
add to or alter the trade mark in any manner not
substantially affecting the
identity thereof, and the Registrar may refuse leave or may grant it on such
terms and subject to such
limitations as he may think fit.
(2) The
Registrar may cause an application under this section to be advertised in the
Gazette in any case where it appears to him that
it is expedient so to do.
(3) A
person may within the prescribed time give notice to the Registrar of
opposition to the application, and the Registrar shall,
after hearing the
parties, if they so require, decide the matter.
(4) Any
decision of the Registrar under this section shall be subject to appeal to the
Court.
(5) Where
leave as aforesaid is granted, the trade mark as al tered shall be advertised
in the Gazette, unless it has already been ad
vertised, in the form to which it
has been altered, in an advertisement under subsection (2).
Adaptation of
entries in register to amend or substituted classifica tion of goods
38 (1) Subject
to section 39(2) the Minister may from time to time make such regulations,
prescribe such forms and generally do such things
as he thinks expedient, for
empowering the Registrar to amend the register, whether by making or expunging
or varying entries therein,
so far as may be requisite for the purpose of
adapting the designation therein of the goods or classes of goods in respect of
which
trade marks are registered to any amended or substituted classification that
may be prescribed.
(2) The
Registrar shall not, in exercise of any power conferred on him for the purpose
aforesaid, make any amendment of the register
that would have the effect of
adding any goods or classes of goods to those in respect of which a trade mark
is registered (whether
in one or more classes) immediately before the amendment
is to be made, or of antedating the registration of a trade mark in respect
of
any goods:
Provided that this subsection shall
not have effect in relation to goods as to which the Registrar is satisfied
that compliance
with this subsection in relation thereto would involve undue
complexity and that the addition or antedating, as the case may be,
would not
affect any sub stantial quantity of goods and would not substantially prejudice
the rights of any person.
(3) A
proposal for amendment of the register for the purpose aforesaid shall be
notified to the registered proprietor of the trade mark
affected, shall be
subject to appeal by the registered proprietor to the Court, shall be
advertised with any modifications, and
may be opposed before the Registrar by
any person aggrieved on the ground that the pro posed amendment contravenes
subsection (2),
and the decision of the Registrar on any such opposition shall
be subject to appeal to the Court.
(4) The
negative resolution procedure shall apply to regulations made under this
section.
PART III
GENERAL AND
MISCELLANEOUS
Power of
Minister to make regulations and prescribe forms
39 (1) The
Minister may from time to time make such regulations, prescribe such forms and
generally do such things as he may think ex pedient
—
(a) for regulating the practice under this Act
including the service of documents;
(b) for classifying goods for the purposes of
registration of trade marks;
(c) for making or requiring duplicates of trade
marks and other documents;
(d) for securing and regulating the publishing and
selling or distributing in such manner as he may think fit, of copies of trade
marks
and other documents;
(e) for prescribing any matter or thing required or
permitted by this Act to be prescribed by regulation;
(f) generally, for regulating the business of the
Registrar in relation to trade marks and all things by this Act placed under
the direction
or control of the Registrar.
(2) Subject
to subsection (4) the Registrar shall—
(a) cause a copy of all regulations made under this
Act to be made available in his offices and in the Registry of the Supreme
Court;
(b) cause to be published in the Gazette a notice
briefly de scribing the nature of the regulations made under this Act, stating
the
date on which they are to come into op eration and the places where such
regulations may be inspected.
(3) Regulations
made available under subsection (1)(a) may be inspected by any interested
person free of charge at any time when the
offices of the Registrar General or,
as the case may be, the Registry of the Supreme Court are open to the public.
(4) Subsections
(2) and (3) shall not apply, or shall cease to ap ply, as the case may be, to
any regulations under this Act that are
pub lished in the Gazette or under the
authority of the Revised Laws and An nual Revision Act 1971.
(5) A
certificate purporting to be by the Registrar and under his hand and seal that
any regulations under the Act and annexed thereto
was made on a specified date
shall be admitted in evidence in all courts in Bermuda and in all proceedings
in proof of the fact
thereof and the regulations so annexed shall likewise be
so admitted without further proof or production of the original.
(6) Section
6 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1977 [title
1 item 3] shall not apply to regulations made under this section. The
provisions of subsection (2) shall be deemed to be deposit for public
inspection for the purpose of section 5(1) of the Statutory Instruments Act
1977 [title 1 item 3].
Fees
40 There shall be paid in respect of
applications and registrations and other matters under this Act such fees as
may be prescribed
under the Government Fees Act 1965. [title 15 item 18]
POWERS AND DUTIES
OF REGISTRAR
Preliminary
advice by Registrar as to distinctiveness
41 (1) The
power to give to a person who proposes to apply for the registration of a trade
mark in Part A or Part B of the register advice
as to whether the trade mark
appears to the Registrar prima facie to be inher ently adapted to distinguish,
or capable of distinguishing,
as the case may be, shall be a function of the
Registrar under this Act.
(2) If
on an application for the registration of a trade mark as to which the
Registrar has given advice as aforesaid in the affirmative,
made within three
months after the advice is given, the Registrar, after further investigation or
consideration, gives notice to
the applicant of objection on the ground that
the trade mark is not adapted to distin guish or capable of distinguishing, as
the
case may be, the applicant shall be entitled, on giving notice of
withdrawal of the application within the prescribed period, to
have repaid to
him any fee paid on the filing of the application.
Hearing before
exercise of Registrar's discretion
42 Where any discretionary or other power
is given to the Registrar by this Act or the regulations, he shall not exercise
that power
adversely to the applicant for registration or the registered
proprietor of the trade mark in question without giving to the applicant
or
registered proprietor an opportunity of being heard.
Power of
Registrar to award costs
43 In all proceedings before the Registrar
under this Act, the Regis trar shall have power to award to any party such
costs as he may
con sider reasonable, and to direct how and by what parties
they are to be paid, and any such order may, by leave of the Court or
a judge
thereof, be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or order of the Court to
the same effect.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
AND APPEALS
Registration to
be prima facie evidence of validity
44 In all legal proceedings relating to a
registered trade mark (including applications under section 34), the fact that
a person is
regis tered as proprietor of the trade mark shall be prima facie
evidence of the validity of the original registration of the trade
mark and of
all subse quent assignments and transmissions thereof.
Costs of
Registrar in proceedings before Court, and payment of costs by Registrar
45 In all proceedings before the Court
under this Act the costs of the Registrar shall be in the discretion of the
Court, but the Registrar
shall not be ordered to pay the costs of any other of
the parties.
Trade usage,
etc. to be considered
46 In any action or proceeding relating to
a trade mark or trade name, the Registrar or the Court, as the case may be,
shall admit
evi dence of usages of the trade concerned and of any relevant
trade mark or trade name or get-up legitimately used by other persons.
[Section 46
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Registrar's
appearance in proceedings involving rectification
47 (1) In
any legal proceedings in which the relief sought includes alteration or
rectification of the register, the Registrar shall have
the right to appear and
be heard, and shall appear if so directed by the Court.
(2) Unless
otherwise directed by the Court, the Registrar in lieu of appearing and being
heard may submit to the Court a statement in
writing signed by him, giving
particulars of the proceedings before him in relation to the matter in issue or
of the grounds of
any decision given by him affecting it or of his practice in
like cases or of such other matters relevant to the issues, and within
his
knowledge as Registrar, as he thinks fit, and the statement shall be deemed to
form part of the evi dence in the proceeding.
Court's power
to review Registrar's decision
48 The Court in dealing with any question
of the rectification of the register (including all applications under section
34), shall
have power to review any decision of the Registrar relating to the
entry in question or the correction sought to be made.
Discretion of
Court in appeals
49 In any appeal from a decision of the
Registrar to the Court under this Act, the Court shall have and exercise the
same discretionary
pow ers as under this Act are conferred upon the Registrar.
Procedure in
cases of option to apply to Court or Registrar
50 Where under any of the foregoing
provisions of this Act an appli cant has an option to make an application
either to the Court or
to the Registrar —
(a) if an action concerning the trade mark in
question is pending, the application must be made to the court;
(b) if in any other case the application is made to
the Regis trar, he may, at any stage of the proceedings, refer the application
to
the referee, or he may, after hearing the parties, determine the question
between them, subject to appeal to the Court.
[Section 50
amended by Second Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
EVIDENCE
Mode of giving
evidence
51 (1) In
any proceeding under this Act before the Registrar, the evidence shall be given
by statutory declaration in the absence of direc
tions to the contrary, but, in
any case in which the Registrar thinks it right so to do, he may take evidence
viva voce in lieu
of or in addition to evidence by declaration. Any such
statutory declaration may in the case of appeal be used before the Court
in
lieu of evidence by affidavit, but if so used shall have all the incidents and
consequences of evidence by af fidavit.
(2) In
case any part of the evidence is taken viva voce the Reg istrar shall have
power to require the attendance of witnesses and the
production of documents
and to take evidence on oath, and shall for the purposes of any proceedings under
this Act before him have
all the pow ers possessed by a judge of the Supreme
Court in relation to proceedings in the Supreme Court, and the Court shall have
power to enforce the or ders of the Registrar as if they were those of a judge.
Evidence of entries
in register
52 (1) A
copy of any entry in the register or an extract from the register which is
obtained pursuant to subsection (2), purporting to
be certified by the
Registrar and under his hand and seal shall be admitted in evi dence in all
Courts in Bermuda, and in all proceedings,
without further proof or production
of the original.
(2) Any
person requiring such a certified copy or an extract as aforesaid shall be
entitled to obtain it on payment of such fee as may
be prescribed un der the
Government Fees Act 1965 [title 15 item
18].
(3) In
relation to any portion of the register kept otherwise than in documentary
form—
(a) the right of inspection conferred by section
2(6) is a right to inspect the material on the register; and
(b) the right to a copy or extract conferred by
this section or the Regulations is a right to a copy or extract in a form in
which it
can be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.
[Section 52
amended by 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Certificate of
Registrar to be evidence
53 A certificate purporting to be under
the hand of the Registrar as to any entry, matter, or thing which he is
authorised by this
Act, or the regulations, to make or do, shall be prima facie
evidence of the entry having been made, and of the contents thereof,
and of the
matter or thing having been done or not done.
OFFENCES
Falsification
of entries in register an offence
54 If any person makes or causes to be
made a false entry in the register, or a writing falsely purporting to be a
copy of an entry
in the register, or produces or tenders or causes to be
produced or tendered in evidence any such writing, knowing the entry or
writing
to be false, he commits an offence:
Punishment on
summary conviction: imprisonment for 6 months or a fine of $1,000 or both such
imprisonment and fine.
55 (1) Any
person who makes a representation —
(a) with respect to a mark not being a registered
trade mark, to the effect that it is a registered trade mark; or
(b) with respect to a part of a registered trade
mark not be ing a part separately registered as a trade mark, to the effect
that it
is so registered; or
(c) to the effect that a registered trade mark is
registered in respect of any goods in respect of which it is not regis tered;
or
(d) to the effect that the registration of a trade
mark gives an exclusive right to the use thereof in any circum stances in
which,
having regard to limitations entered on the register, the registration
does not give that right,
commits an
offence:
Punishment on
summary conviction: a fine of $200.
(2) For
the purposes of this section, the use in Bermuda in re lation to a trade mark
of the word "registered" or of any other
word refer ring whether
expressly or impliedly to registration, shall be deemed to import a reference
to registration in the register,
except —
(a) where that word is used in physical association
with other words delineated in characters at least as large as those in which
that
word is delineated and indicated that the reference is to registration as
a trade mark un der the law of a country outside Bermuda,
being a country under
the law of which the registration referred to is in fact in force;
(b) where that word (being a word other than the
word "registered") is of itself such as to indicate that the refer ence
is
to such registration as last aforesaid; or
(c) where that word is used in relation to a mark
registered as a trade mark under the law of a country outside Bermuda and in
relation
to goods to be exported to that country.
[Section 55
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
MISCELLANEOUS
Change of form
of trade connection not to be deemed to cause de ception
56 The use of a registered trade mark in
relation to goods between which and the person using it any form of connection
in the course
of trade subsists shall not be deemed to be likely to cause
deception or confusion on the ground only that the trade mark has been,
or is,
used in relation to goods between which and that person or a predecessor in
title of his a different form of connection
in the course of trade subsisted or
subsists.
[Section 56
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Jointly owned
trade marks
57 (1) Where
the relations between two or more persons interested in a trade mark are such
that no one of them is entitled as between him
self and the other or others of
them to use it except —
(a) on behalf of both or all of them; or
(b) in
relation to an article with which both or all of them are connected in the
course of trade,
those persons may
be registered as joint proprietors of the trade mark, and this Act shall have
effect in relation to any rights
to the use of the trade mark vested in those
persons as if those rights had been vested in a single person.
(2) Subject
to subsection (1), nothing in this Act shall authorise the registration of two
or more persons who use a trade mark indepen
dently, or propose so to use it,
as joint proprietors thereof.
[Section 57
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Trusts and
equities
58 (1) There
shall not be entered in the register any notice of any trust express, implied
or constructive, nor shall any such notice be
re ceivable by the Registrar.
(2) Subject
to this Act, equities in respect of a trade mark may be enforced in like manner
as in respect of any other personal property.
Recognition of
agents
59 Where by this Act any act has to be
done by or to any person in connection with a trade mark or proposed trade mark
or any procedure
relating thereto, the act may under and in accordance with the
regula tions, or in particular cases by special leave of the Court,
be done by
or to an agent of that person duly authorised in the prescribed manner.
Transitional
60 [omitted]
[Section 60
modified by First Schedule of 1991:39 effective 18 June 1993]
Citation of No.
33 of 1930
61 [omitted]
Repeals and
amendments
62 [omitted]
Commencement
63 [omitted]
[this Act was
brought into operation on 1 July 1975 by SR&O 59/1975]
SCHEDULE
[omitted]
[Amended by
1975 : 26
1977 : 35
1985 : 44
1991 : 39]
APPENDIX
[nb. this
section is not part of the 1974 Act]
Act No. 39 of 1991 provides:
Application of the 1974 Act to service marks
2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Trade Marks
Act 1974 (hereafter referred to as "the 1974 Act") shall have effect
with respect
to service marks as it has effect with respect to trade marks
(reference to goods having effect as references to services).
(2) The 1974 Act shall have effect in relation
to service marks as mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act.
(3) In consequence of subsections (1) and (2),
the 1974 Act shall have effect, in cases where it applies otherwise than by
virtue of
subsections (1) and (2), with the amendments specified in the Second
Schedule to this Act.
(4) In the application by virtue of subsection
(1) above of section 8 of the 1974 Act (restrictions on exclusive right
conferred by
registration) the references in that section to the use of the
mark by a person's predecessors in title shall, as respects use before
this Act
comes into operation, be construed as references to use by any predecessor of
his in business.
(5) In this Act "service mark" means a
mark (including a device, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, or any
combination
thereof) used or proposed to be used in relation to services for
the purpose of indicating, or so as to indicate, that a particular
person is
connected, in the course of business, with the provision of those services,
whether with or without any indication of
the identity of that person.
(6) The laws mentioned in the Third Schedule
shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in that Schedule.
FIRST
SCHEDULE Section 2(2)
Modifications of Trade Marks Act
1974
in Application to Service Marks
Section 1
1 Section 1
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof—
(i) in the
definition of the expression "limitations", for all the words
appearing immediately after the words "relation
to" where they appear
the first time there shall be substituted the words "services for use or
available for acceptance
within Bermuda or in relation to services for use
outside Bermuda;";
(ii) in the
definition of the expression "mark" there shall be omitted the words
"brand, heading, label, ticket,";
(iii) insert
immediately after the definition of the expression "prescribed" the
following definition:
'"provision",
in relation to services, means their provision for money or money's worth;';
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof, for all the words appearing immediately after the words "in
relation to" there shall be substituted
the words "services shall be
construed as references to the use of the mark as or as part of any statement
about the availability
or performance of services or otherwise in relation to
services.".
Section 5
2 Section 5
shall be modified as follows:
(a) for subsection
(1) thereof, there shall be substituted the following:
" (1) Subject
to subsections (2) and (4) and sections 3 and 9, the registration after the
coming into operation of the Trade Marks (Modification
and Amendment) Act 1991
of a person in part A of the register as a proprietor of a service mark in
respect of any services shall,
if valid, give to that person the exclusive
right to the use of the mark in relation to those services and, without
prejudice to
the generality of the foregoing words, that right shall be deemed
to be infringed by any person who, not being the proprietor of
the mark or
registered user thereof using by way of the permitted use, uses in connection
with the provision of any services a
mark identical with or nearly resembling
it in relation to any services in respect of which it is registered, and in
such manner as to render the use of the mark likely
to be taken either—
(a) as being use as a mark; or
(b) in a case in which the use is use at or near
the place where the services are available for acceptance or performed in an
advertising
circular or other advertisement issued to the public, as importing
a reference to some person having the right either as a proprietor
or as
registered user to use the mark or to services with the provision of which such
a person as aforesaid is connected in the
course of business.";
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof, for the words from "goods to be sold" to "any
market" there shall be substituted
the words "services for use or
available for acceptance in any place, country or territory";
(c) in subsection (3)
thereof, for paragraphs (a) and (b), there shall be substituted the following
paragraphs:
" (a) in
relation to services to which the proprietor of the mark or a registered user conforming
to the permitted use has applied the
mark, where the purpose and effect of the
use of the mark is to indicate, in accordance with the fact, that those
services have
been performed by the proprietor or a registered user of the
mark; or
(b) in
relation to services the provision of which is connected in the course of
business with the proprietor or a registered user of
the mark, where the
proprietor or registered user has at any time expressly or impliedly consented
to the use of the mark; or
(c) in
relation to services available for use with other services in relation to which
the mark has been used without infringement of
the right given by registration
or might for the time being be so used, if—
(i) the use of the mark is reasonably necessary in order to
indicate that the services are available for such use; and
(ii) neither the purpose nor the effect of the use of the mark is
to indicate otherwise than in accordance with the fact a connection
in the
course of business between any person and the provision of those
services.".
Section 6
3 Section 6
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof—
(i) there
shall be inserted immediately before the words "of a person" the
words "after the coming into operation of
the Trade Marks (Modification
and Amendment) Act 1991";
(ii) there
shall be omitted the words "or be deemed to have given";
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof—
(i) there
shall be omitted the words from "otherwise" to "section
7,";
(ii) for all
the words immediately after the words "as indicating" there shall be
substituted the words "that a person
having the right either as proprietor
or as registered user to use the mark is connected in the course of business
with the provision
of the services".
Section 7
4 Section 7
shall be omitted.
Section
10
5 In section
10(2), for the words from "distinguish" to "subsists" there
shall be substituted the words "distinguish
services with the provision of
which the proprietor is or may be connected, in the course of business, from
services with the provision
of which he is not so connected".
Section 11
6 In section
11(1), for the words from "distinguishing" to "subsists"
there shall be substituted the words "distinguishing
services with the
provision of which the proprietor of the mark is or may be connected in the
course of business from services
with the provision of which he is not so
connected".
Section 13
7 Section 13
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof, for the words immediately after the words "identical with"
there shall be substituted the words
"or nearly resembles a mark belonging
to a different proprietor and already on the register in respect of the same
services,
the same description of services, or goods or a description of goods
which are associated with those services or services of that
description.";
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof, for the words immediately after the words "the registration"
there shall be substituted the
following:
"by
the more than one proprietor, in respect of—
(a) the same services,
(b) the same description of services, or
(c) services and goods or descriptions of services
and goods which are associated with each other,
of
marks that are identical or nearly resemble each other, subject to such
conditions and limitations, if any, as the Court or the
Registrar, as the case
may be, may think it right to impose.";
(c) in subsection (3)
thereof, for the words immediately after the words "respectively of"
there shall be substituted the
following:
"marks
that are identical or nearly resemble each other, in respect of—
(a) the same services,
(b) the same description of services, or
(c) services and goods or descriptions of services
and goods which are associated with each other,
the
Registrar may refuse to register any of them until their rights have been
determined by the Court, or have been settled by agreement
in a manner approved
by him or, on an appeal, by the Court.".
Section 15
8 In section
15(1)(b), for the words "the trade" there shall be substituted the
words "the provision of services of
that description".
Section 16
9 Section 16
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof, for the words "an article or substance" there shall be
substituted the words "some activity";
(b) for subsection
(2), there shall be substituted the following subsection:
" (2) If
it is proved that there is a well-known and established use of the word or
words as the name or description of some activity
by a person or persons
providing services which include that activity, not being use in relation to
services with the provision
of which the proprietor or a registered user of the
mark is connected in the course of business, subsection (3) shall have
effect.";
(c) in subsection (3)
thereof—
(i) there
shall be omitted the words "paragraph (a) or (b) of";
(ii) in paragraph
(a), for the words "article or substance in question or of any goods of
the same description" there shall
be substituted the words "activity
in question" and for the words "that article or substance and any
goods of the
same description" there shall be substituted the words
"that activity";
(iii) in
paragraph (b), for the words "article or substance in question and of any
goods of the same description" there shall
be substituted the words
"activity in question" and for the words "that article or substance
and any goods of the
same description" there shall be substituted the
words "that activity";
(d) in subsection (4)
thereof, for the words "article or substance in question or to any goods
of the same description" there
shall be substituted the words
"activity in question" and there shall be omitted the words
"paragraph (a) of"
and the words appearing immediately after the word
"established".
Section 23
10 Section 23
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof, there shall be omitted the proviso thereto;
(b) in subsection (4)
thereof, in paragraph (a) of the proviso thereto, for the words "trade
use" there shall be substituted
the words "business use".
Section 26
11 Section 26
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof, there shall be omitted the words from "Notwithstanding" to
"contrary," and the words
", and shall be deemed always to have
been,";
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof, there shall be omitted the words ", and shall be deemed always to
have been" and the words
", or was registered, as the case may
be,";
(c) in subsection (3)
thereof, there shall be omitted the words "or was" wherever they
appear;
(d) for subsection
(4), there shall be substituted the following subsection:
" (4) Notwithstanding
anything in subsections (1) to (3) (inclusive) a mark shall not be assignable
or transmissible in a case in which
as a result of an assignment or
transmission there would in the circumstances subsist, whether under the common
law or by registration,
exclusive rights in more than one of the persons
concerned to the use, in relation to—
(a) the same services,
(b) the same description of services, or
(c) services and goods or descriptions of services
and goods which are associated with each other,
of marks nearly resembling each other
or of identical marks, if, having regard to the similarity of the services or
the association
of the goods and services or description of goods and services,
and to the similarity of the marks, the use of the marks in exercise
of those
rights would be likely to deceive or cause confusion:
Provided
that, where a mark is assigned or transmitted in such a case, the assignment or
transmission shall not be deemed to be
invalid under this subsection if the
exclusive rights subsisting as a result thereof in the persons concerned
respectively are,
having regard to limitations imposed thereon, such as not to
be exercisable by two or more of those persons in relation to services
for use
in Bermuda, in relation to services for use in the same country or territory
outside Bermuda or in relation to services
available for acceptance in Bermuda
(wherever they are to be used).";
(e) in subsection (6)
thereof, for the words from "in those goods is made, on or after the
appointed day" there shall be substituted
the words "of providing
those services is made".
Section 29
12 Section 29
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof, there shall be omitted the words "Subject to section 30,";
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof, for the words immediately after the words "bona fide use"
there shall be substituted the words
"of the mark by the proprietor
thereof for the time being in relation to—
(a) services of the same description, or
(b) goods associated with those services or
services of that description,
being
services or, as the case may be, goods in respect of which the mark is
registered.";
(c) in subsection (3)
thereof, for the words "that is shown to have been due to special
circumstances in the trade" there
shall be substituted the words "in
relation to particular services that is shown to have been due to special
circumstances
affecting the provisions of those
services".
Section 30
13 Section 30
shall be omitted.
Section 31
14 Section 31
shall be modified as follows:
(a) in subsection (1)
thereof, there shall be omitted the words "(otherwise than as a defensive
trade mark)";
(b) in subsection (2)
thereof, for the words "goods with which he is connected in the course of
trade" there shall be substituted
the words "services with the
provision of which he is connected in the course of business";
(c) in subsection (9)
thereof, for the word "trade" there shall be substituted the word
"business".
Section 33
15 For section
33 there shall be substituted the following section:
"33 Any act done in Bermuda in relation to services
for use outside Bermuda which, if done in relation to services provided within
Bermuda
for use there, would constitute use of a mark in Bermuda, shall be
deemed to constitute use of the mark in relation to those services
for any
purpose for which such use is material under this Act or at common law.".
Section 46
16 In section
46, for the words "trade name" there shall be substituted the words
"business name" and for the words
"usages of the trade
concerned" there shall be substituted the words "business usages in
the provisions of the services
in question".
Section 55
17 In section
55(2)(c), for the words "goods to be exported to that country" there
shall be substituted the words "services
for use in that country".
Section 56
18 In section
56—
(a) for the words
"goods between", wherever they appear, there shall be substituted the
words "services between the provision
of";
(b) for the words
"trade subsists" there shall be substituted the words "business
subsists" and for the words "trade
subsisted" there shall be
substituted the words "business subsisted".
Section 57
19 Section 57,
for paragraph (b) thereof there shall be substituted the following paragraph:
" (b) in
relation to services with the provision of which both or all of them are
connected in the course of business,".
Section 60
20 Section 60
shall be omitted.
SECOND
SCHEDULE Section 2(3)
Amendments
of the Trade Marks Act 1974
in Application to Trade Marks for Goods
[omitted]
THIRD
SCHEDULE Section 2(6)
Service
Marks
1 (1) Any reference to a trade mark in a provision
to which this paragraph applies shall include a reference to a service mark and
accordingly
any reference to a registered trade mark includes a reference to a
registered service mark.
(2) The provisions to which this paragraph applies
are—
(a) in The Crown
Proceedings Act, 1966, section 4(1) and (2);
(b) in The Companies
Act 1981—
(a) First
Schedule, paragraph 3;
(b) Second Schedule, paragraph (q)
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