新加坡：成功抵制“Aswins”复合商标申请

Trade MarkNo.40202317332S IN THE NAME OF ASWINS SWEETS & SNACKSPTE LTD …Applicant AND ANOPPOSITIONBY ASWINS HOME SPECIAL …Opponent GROUNDS OF DECISION TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............................................................................................1 BACKGROUND..............................................................................................2 STATUTORY DECLARATIONS...........................................................................2THEOPPONENT...............................................................................................3 GOODWILL......................................................................................................6 BAD FAITH: S 7(6) TMA.............................................................................21 COSTS............................................................................................................24 Aswins Home Specialv [2026] SGIPOS 5 Trade MarkNo.40202317332SPrincipalAssistant RegistrarOng Sheng Li, Gabriel 20April 2026 Principal Assistant RegistrarOng Sheng Li, Gabriel: Introduction 1Thisis a trade mark opposition started by Aswins Home Special(“Opponent”). The Opponent isamanufacturer and seller oftraditional Indiansweets and snacksbasedin Tamil Nadu, India. Established in2004,its sweets snacksare“ASWINS”and“ 2On 4 August 2023 (the “Relevant Date”), a Singaporeincorporatedcompanyby the name of Aswins Sweets & Snacks Pte Ltd (“Applicant”)filed to register the following trade mark1“ No.40202317332S)(“Application Mark”)in Classes 29 and 30 for thefollowing goods(the “Claimed Goods”): Banana chips; Candied fruit snacks; Dried fruit-based snacks;Fruit based snack food; Fruit chips; Mango chips; Okra chips;Potato chips; Snack foods made principally from meat; Snackfoodsmade principally from pre-cooked vegetables;Snack Class 30 Biscuit mixes; Biscuits;Chocolate biscuits; Crackers; Filledbiscuits; Fruit biscuits; Gluten-free biscuits; Non-medicatedsweets;Sugar-freesweets;Sweetbiscuitsforhuman 3The Opponentdoesnot have anytrade markregistration in Singaporewhich pre-dates theApplication Mark.Itrelied onthe following twogrounds 4After due consideration,I have decided to allow the opposition on bothgrounds. My reasons are set out in fullin the paragraphs that follow. Background Statutory declarations 5The parties filed evidence by way of statutory declarations(“SD(s)”).MrK.R.V. Ganesan,the Opponent’sManaging Partner(“Mr Ganesan”), gaveSDevidence(“Ganesan’s SD”)as well asSDevidence-in-reply(“Ganesan’s Panneerselvam”),a Director of the Applicant,gave SD evidence(“Panneerselvam’sSD”)on its behalf.Neither party applied for cross- The Opponent 6TheOpponent is an Indian partnership firm.A manufacturer oftraditional Indian sweets and snacks since 2004, the Opponent employs around2,200 employees.Itsregisteredplace of business isinPerambalur, a town and 7The primary signs which the Opponent uses in connection with its sweetsand snacks are“ASWINS”and“”(collectively the“Opponent’s Signs”). The Opponent also operates the following website: 8As far as Singapore is concerned,traditional Indiansweets and snacksoriginating from the Opponent(the “Opponent’s Goods”)which bear theOpponent’s Signshave been sold in this countryat leastsince March 2021. as theOpponent’sexclusive reseller in Singapore.4Thegoodsimported bySGPLare sold tostores, restaurants, and e-commerce platformsfor onward sale 9As mentioned earlier, the Opponent does not have any trade mark thatpre-dates the Application Mark. However, it does have the followinglatertrademark applications.(This fact does notstrengthenthe Opponent’s casein respect (Trade Mark No. 40202428367T) filed on 3 December 2024 in Class 438 The Applicant 10The Applicantwas incorporated on 20 July 2023.Not long afterwards(on4 August 2023), it applied to register the Application Mark. 11Mr Panneerselvam is sole director and shareholderof the Applicant.MrPanneerselvam is alsosoledirectorandshareholderof variousbusiness vehicleswhichbear the name“ASWINS”including:9 Aswins Traders(soleproprietorship registered on 20 June 2023),Aswins Mart PteLtd(incorporated22 June 2023),Aswins Sweets & Snacks PteLtd(incorporated 20 July 2023), 12It was not clear from the Applicant’s evidence that the Applicant—orindeed any of the “ASWINS” business entities linked to Mr Panneerselvam—had in fact conducted any actual trade.There was very little evidenceled as to the business activities of these “ASWINS” businesses. The onlyrelevant Importantly,there was no evidence that the Applicant had sold sweets or snacksunder the Application Mark (or the “ASWINS” word mark) in Singapore. 13There wassomewhat of anattempt to explain this. Mr Panneerselvam’sevidence was that the Opponent’s conflicting use of “ASWINS” meant that the Passing off: s 8(7)(a) TMA 14Section 8(7)(a) TMAprovidesas follows. (7) A trade mark shall not be registered if, or to the extent that,its use in Si