Australian Egg Corporation withdraws its certified trade mark application

The Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL) has advised the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that it has written to IP Australia withdrawing its application for Certification Trade Mark (CTM) No 1390450 that proposed a number of industry standards, including standards for free range egg production.

Following AECL’s withdrawal, the ACCC’s consideration of this CTM application has ceased.

Further information

Prior to AECL’s withdrawal of their CTM application, the ACCC released its initial assessment of the application. The ACCC proposed not to approve the Certification Trade Mark because it considered that the AECL’s proposed standards may mislead consumers about the nature of eggs described as ‘free range’. In addition, the ACCC considered that the proposed standards did not meet all of the legislative requirements in the Trade Marks Act.

The ACCC received a number of submissions in response to its initial assessment prior to AECL’s withdrawal of their CTM application.

Further information about the ACCC’s role in assessing applications to register certification trade marks can be found at http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/815802

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