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In Re - Kenya Farmers Association (Co Operative) Limited; In Re - Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 (C.C. 262-1932.)

East African Court of Appeal · [1933] EACA 10 · 1933 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by motion for order declaring letters as distinctive mark registrable under Trade Marks Ordinance 1930
Decision
Application dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; matter must first be brought before Registrar of Trade Marks

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held it has no jurisdiction in the first instance to entertain an application under section 13 of the Trade Marks Ordinance 1930. The Court's jurisdiction only arises on appeal from a decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks under section 13(3) and Rule 90 of the Trade Marks Rules 1931. The application was dismissed as premature.

Outcome

Application dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; matter must first be brought before Registrar of Trade Marks

Facts

The Kenya Farmers Association (Co-Operative) Limited applied by motion to the Court for an order declaring that the letters "K.F.A." constituted a distinctive mark under the Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 and that the mark should be registrable as their trade mark. The Registrar of Trade Marks appeared in person. The application was brought directly to the Court without first being submitted to the Registrar of Trade Marks for decision.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court has jurisdiction in the first instance to entertain an application under section 13 of the Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 for registration of a distinctive mark.

Orders

  • Application dismissed as being premature.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Trade Marks — Jurisdiction — First Instance Applications
The Court has no jurisdiction in the first instance to entertain an application for registration of a trade mark under section 13 of the Trade Marks Ordinance 1930; the Court's jurisdiction only arises on appeal from a decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks.
Administrative Procedure — Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
An application for registration of a trade mark must first be made to the Registrar of Trade Marks in accordance with the procedure laid down in section 13 of the Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 and Rules 15 to 34 of the Trade Marks Rules 1931 before the Court can exercise appellate jurisdiction.

Legislation cited (5)

  • Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 s.10
  • Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 s.13
  • Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 s.13(3)
  • Trade Marks Rules 1931 r.90
  • Trade Marks Rules 1931 r.15-34

Cases cited (4)

  • Maxwell v Hogg (1866) 17 Ch App 307
  • In re Applications of W and G Du Cros Ltd [1912] 1 Ch 644
  • Registrar of Trade Marks v W and G Du Cros Ltd [1913] AC 624
  • In re Birmingham Small Arms Company's Application [1907] 2 Ch 396

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

In Re - Kenya Farmers Association (Co Operative) Limited; In Re - Trade Marks Ordinance 1930 (C.C. 262-1932.) [1933] EACA 10 (1 January 1933)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.