CONCERNING SOAP.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8407, 23 April 1907, Page 7

CONCERNING SOAP.

By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, April 22. At the Appeal Court, to-day, in the ' case of Lever and Sons v. Newton and Sons, the Court held, on the point raised by Mr Young, counsel for respondents, that the Court of Appeal Act gave a general right of appeal from any order of the Supreme ■ Court, unless it was expressly otherwise enacted by any statute. Mr Gully, for the appellants, addressed the Court, his contention being that the words "rising sun," as applied to soap were calculated to deceive the public into the belief that they were buying "Sunlight Soap." The furic-; tion of the registrar of patents, on| an application to register a trader mark, which was objected to by the: ■owner of another mark, was different from the function of the Court in cases of infringement of a trade mark, and the registrar wis not bound to grant an application for registration, if no objection could be taken to it under sections 79 and 80 •of "The Patents, Designs and Trades Marks Act, 1889." The registrar, still had the discretion to refuse registration if the trade mark was, in his opinion, calculated to deceive the public, as this trade mark was. The appellants did not claim a monopoly of the use of the word "sun" in al> its compounds, but the words "risnig sun" on the respondents' packets and the general get up /•of the packets were calculated to deceive the careless portion of the community into the belief that in purchasing the soap it was getting Soap," a name which had been on the market for eighteen years, and had become well established. The case is not concluded.