The Federal Court confirmed a hypothetical consumer in a trademark confusion analysis is based on the persons who are likely to buy the goods or services associated with the trademark in the relevant market. In the case of alleged trademark confusion between two bakery companies using Chinese character marks, the Court held the likely consumers of the goods and services would be able to read and understand Chinese characters. And, as such, the average consumer would understand the meaning of the name/mark and would not simply look at them as design marks. The Court then struck the respondent’s marks for several grounds including confusion and bad faith.
