A nutty snack company in Australia has won the right to call itself Nuckin Futs, despite an official ruling that it was offensive.
A solicitor representing the Gold Coast company argued that the name was not offensive because the words it suggested were commonplace in everyday Australian language.
The Trade Marks Examiner had ruled a year ago that Nuckin Futs had to be rejected because it was scandalous and offensive due to its close resemblance to the common phrase f--king nuts.
The examiner, who has not been named, ruled that Nuckin Futs was an 'obvious spoonerism' and therefore was ineligible for registration under section 42 of the Trade Marks Act.
The Act states that anything that is regarded as shameful, offensive or shocking to ordinary people had to be rejected.
Solicitor Jamie White did not agree with the finding and began a 12-month campaign on behalf of the company to get the name registered.
The suggested words were part of the everyday language of Australians, he considered, and drew up a five-page legal document cataloguing the history of controversial product names.
He argued that the words 'f--k' and 'f--king' were 'now part of the universal discourse of the ordinary Australian.'
Source: Australian firm wins right to call itself Nuckin Futs | Mail Online
A solicitor representing the Gold Coast company argued that the name was not offensive because the words it suggested were commonplace in everyday Australian language.
The Trade Marks Examiner had ruled a year ago that Nuckin Futs had to be rejected because it was scandalous and offensive due to its close resemblance to the common phrase f--king nuts.
The examiner, who has not been named, ruled that Nuckin Futs was an 'obvious spoonerism' and therefore was ineligible for registration under section 42 of the Trade Marks Act.
The Act states that anything that is regarded as shameful, offensive or shocking to ordinary people had to be rejected.
Solicitor Jamie White did not agree with the finding and began a 12-month campaign on behalf of the company to get the name registered.
The suggested words were part of the everyday language of Australians, he considered, and drew up a five-page legal document cataloguing the history of controversial product names.
He argued that the words 'f--k' and 'f--king' were 'now part of the universal discourse of the ordinary Australian.'
Source: Australian firm wins right to call itself Nuckin Futs | Mail Online
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