Brown nosing allowed, court rules

The National Cancer Foundation (NCF) will keep the Brown Nose Day trademark, after the Full Federal Court rejected an appeal by the Registrar of Trade Marks.

Last year the NCF won its own appeal against the decision of the Registrar to have its trademark reinstated, with Federal Justice Timothy McEvoy ruling Brown Nose Day would not be confused with Red Nose Day (RND) by a reasonable person.

"We accept that given the meaning attributed to 'brown nose', it is very unlikely that a consumer would apprehend that the Trade Mark in question is a variation of the RND Marks," Federal Court Justices Brigitte Markovic, Jane Needham, and Elizabeth Bennett ruled in agreement with McEvoy.