He then applied to the AAT for review of ASIC’s internal review decision, and the decision of the Minister. Hanlon also separately applied to ASIC for an internal review of their original decision, which they refused to overturn. The Minister affirmed his delegate’s decision. The delegate refused consent, and Hanlon applied direct to the Minister to review the decision. Hanlon then asked the Minister’s delegate to make the name available even though it was thought to be undesirable. ASIC initially refused to register the name, arguing that it was undesirable because they believed it to be offensive. His attempts to register the business name were no less challenging. With success at the Trade Marks Office, Hanlon sought to register POMMIEBASHER as a business name, which is essential if he were to operate an Australian business under that name. It cannot, as far as I can see, cause significant offence to anyone.’ Business Name registrations The word is, in fact, in regular use in the media.’ He went on to say that, ‘Even if the clothing is intended for infants, lawn-bowlers or members of the church choir, I fail to see how the trade mark approaches even the lesser standard of bad taste, let alone “scandalous”. He said, ‘If some notable person were to be described, by themselves or anyone else, as “a pommie-basher”, I am quite sure that both the ABC and the BBC would be able to report this piece of trivia in the evening news with perfect equanimity. In his decision, Mr Williams considered earlier cases on the matter where marks such as LOOK GOOD + EAT GOOD = ROOT GOOD and FCUK were under scrutiny.
He then sought a decision on the written record before Hearing Officer, Mr Terry Williams. His application was rejected by the examiner twice on the grounds that it fell foul of Section 42 (a), that ‘the trade mark must be rejected if (it) contains or consists of scandalous matter’. In October 2008, Hanlon filed a trademark application for the mark POMMIEBASHER in relation to clothing and beers and other beverages. The case was ongoing for two years before IP Australia, then another two years with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and the AAT, the latter’s decision being handed down just before Christmas 2015. It has been a tough battle for the applicant, Mr Peter Hanlon, who sought to register POMMIEBASHER as a business name, and no-one could accuse him of lacking determination. In contrast, in 2011 the Australian Trade Marks Office ruled that the word is registrable as a trade mark and is not scandalous.
In December 2015, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) found the controversial word POMMIEBASHER to be undesirable as a business name because it was considered to be offensive. The word ‘POM’ or ‘POMMIE’ is a colloquial Australian word to refer to an English person, while ‘POMMIEBASHER’ refers to someone who is not of English background, but one who takes great delight in insulting Englishmen, usually in a sporting context. Several Australian sporting identities are renowned for taking any opportunity to make an (affectionate?) remark that might unsettle one’s Imperial opponent. Australia and England’s sporting rivalries are legendary.
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