Plan B Forum

Australian firm wins right to call itself Nuckin Futs despite outrage

Company have battled for one year to win trademark company name
By RICHARD SHEARS

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 I eligible.

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.'

While there might be a sentimental objection or mere distaste to Nuckin Futs, he said, this was not sufficient ground for rejection of the Trade Mark.

He added that 'a substantial number of people would not find the words shocking.'

'Over the passage of time, certain words which may have caused major offence in earlier times would now be acceptable as trade marks in certain markets, namely the Australian market,' Mr White told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

It has taken almost a year but after rejecting the initial application, the Trade Marks Examiner has now agreed to accept the Nuckin Futs trademark - as long as the company does not aim its marketing at children.
Mr White said that would not happen.

He explained that the snack, which is made up mostly of nuts, would not be marketed to children as it was intended to be sold only in pubs, nightclubs and other entertainment venues.

Australians writing to a comment page said they found it strange that Nuckin Futs had to fight for registration, while French Connection UK - which carries the brand name FCUK - was widely accepted in the community.

'Really, people need to lighten up and stop being so politically correct all the time,' said one man.
Another, Rob Lapaer, used his own Spoonerism by describing the affair as being 'mucking afazing.'
But Andrew Baker of Sydney said: 'It's people like this that are responsible for the moral decay in society these days. Not only should the company name not be registered but the man should be fined heavily as well.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1kWeqH4X9

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.

Lord Jim wrote:

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 Trade Marks Examiner sounds like a muckin foron....

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 I eligible.

A spoonerism is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched.

It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844–1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency. A spoonerism is also known as a marrowsky, after a Polish count who suffered from the same impediment.

While spoonerisms are commonly heard as slips of the tongue resulting from unintentionally getting one's words in a tangle, they can also be used intentionally as a play on words. In some cultures, spoonerisms are used as a rhyme form used in poetry, such as German Schüttelreime. In French, "contrepèterie" is a national sport, the subject of entire books and a weekly section of Le Canard enchaîné. Spoonerisms are commonly used intentionally in humour.