Lawyer letter requesting I withdraw trademark application

[davidau]

I have registered(not approved yet, in "Published" stage) a trademark "vivoGear". The wife and I sell on Amazon, and need a trademark to sell our own brand products on Amazon. Just stuff we buy from overseas, and sell in Australia. We now got a letter from lawyers requesting we withdraw our application within 21 or they might take further action against us "as they see fit".

They also write in the letter:
"One of Garmin's best-known family of products is its VIVO range, which includes products sold under the brands VIVOFIT, VIVOACTIVE, VIVOMORE, VIVOSMART. .... As a result of its extensive use and the success of these products Garmin has an extremely strong reputation in Australia in the VIVO brand, in relation to the products in the sports and fitness sector."

Surely they can not block everyone from using "vivo" in combination with any other word? A Latin word meaning "alive or living"..? I thought it is up to IP Australia to decide if my trademark violates any existing ones, and they will approve or deny it.

 

[Tim W]

No, it's not up to IP Australia.
They are concerned with registering trademarks (among other things).
One thing can do is deny your application for registration.
But any dispute after registration is between the trademark holder and the purported infringer.

And yes, controlling the use of trade and brand names
and word combinations, and derivative terms, and abbreviations,
and acronyms, symbols, and even some colours,
is exactly what trademark law does.