One of Australia’s most prestigious private schools, Geelong Grammar School, cited former student King Charles III in an unsuccessful attempt to trademark the phrase “Timbertot” for its early learning centers. Despite this effort, the Australian Trade Marks Office (ATMO) found the name to be too similar to an existing brand.
Geelong Grammar School filed an application to trademark “Timbertot” across various educational materials for its early learning programs at its Corio and Toorak campuses in Victoria. This application was based on the school’s renowned Timbertop program, located in Victoria’s high country, which King Charles III attended in the 1960s. The school intended to “develop a family of trademarks” related to the Timbertop name, told Herald Sun.
The application highlighted King Charles’s attendance at Timbertop, along with other notable alumni such as Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins and writer John Marsden, who taught at the school in the 1980s. The school argued that “Timbertot” was “substantially” the same as “Timbertop,” a name for which they have held a registered trademark since 2002 across various educational services and materials. However, a Brisbane-based childcare center already uses the name “Timber Tots.”
In a decision issued last month, the ATMO restricted the school’s use of “Timbertots” in areas where it is “deceptively similar” to other brands but allowed its use in categories such as laptop bags, swimwear, and clothing.
The school maintained that “Timbertop” has been consistently used since 1953 when the campus was established. A school representative explained to the ATMO, “It is envisaged that students commence at the School as a ‘Timbertot’, and then continue their Geelong Grammar School education to become a Timbertop student. The Applicant believes that the significant and notable reputation in ‘Timbertop’ for over 70 years will extend to its use of ‘Timbertot’ as a family of related trademarks.”
However, ATMO delegate Nicholas Barbey rejected the argument that “Timbertop” and “Timbertot” were “substantially identical.” He stated, “I acknowledge that ‘Timbertop’ and the Trade Mark are similar. However, the mere existence of a reputation in the former is not a circumstance which makes it proper to accept the Application.”
Barbey also dismissed the school’s claim that it would face “particular hardship and substantial inconvenience” if the trademark application was denied. He noted, “The prospect of some internal plans falling by the wayside and the Applicant having to adjust its branding direction are certainly inconvenient. However, based on the evidence, these risks do not constitute a substantial inconvenience given the Trade Mark is in its relative infancy.”
The decision, delivered on June 17, was first reported by the Herald Sun. The Timbertop campus, located near Mount Timbertop, offers an outdoor and indoor education program that the school says presents “new challenges to young people.”