Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India v Registrar of Trade Marks [2026] FCA 1125 — Trade Marks & Decision Of The Delegate Affirmed — Barrister AI
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India v Registrar of Trade Marks
application for word BASMATI to be registered as a certification mark
section 177 of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth)
appeal from a decision of a delegate of the Registrar of the Australian Trade Mark Office
Quick Take
1The assessment of whether a certification trade mark is 'inherently adapted so to distinguish' under s 177(2)(a) is informed by the standard trade mark approach in Clark Equipment and Cantarella (ordinary signification plus whether other traders might legitimately need to use the word), but with the additional recognition that the assessment concerns distinguishing goods certified by the owner from goods not certified at all and from goods certified by others.
2The rules governing use of a certification trade mark under s 173 and proposed conditions under s 176(2) do not form part of the assessment under s 177(2); the certification mark must be inherently adapted to distinguish in and of itself, and the court will not redraft conditions to make a mark registrable.
3A word denoting a type of product grown in a transnational region spanning two countries is not inherently adapted to distinguish goods certified by the regulatory authority of only one of those countries, and the status of the word as a geographical indication under international law (including the TRIPS Agreement) does not constitute 'other circumstances' under s 177(2)(b) sufficient to render the mark adapted to distinguish.
