Club Colours Are Not a Brand: COMPADRES AUSTRALIA Trade Mark Removed

Club Colours Are Not a Brand: COMPADRES AUSTRALIA Trade Mark Removed

There's a world of difference between wearing your club's name on a vest and selling clothing under that name as a trade mark. It's a distinction that seems obvious from the outside — but for Con Sarantidis, founder of the Compadres Christian Motorcycle Club, the failure to appreciate it led to the removal of a trade mark registration he had held for over a decade.

Background: A Christian Motorcycle Club and Its Registration

Con Sarantidis registered the trade mark Compadres Australia (a composite mark including text and design elements) in Class 25 — clothing, footwear, and headgear — back in 2010. The Compadres Christian Motorcycle Club is a charitable and religious organisation whose members wear distinctive leather jackets and vests bearing the Compadres name and associated imagery.

COMPADRES MINISTRIES PTY LTD, represented by Baxter IP, filed to remove the mark for non-use. Sarantidis, self-represented, filed 57 exhibits in response — a substantial effort for an unrepresented party — including photos of members in their gear, social media posts, letters from pastors, and a supplier letter confirming custom purchases.

The Central Issue: What Is Trade Mark Use?

The question for Delegate Benjamin Goldsworthy was whether wearing club vests and jackets, and ordering them from a supplier, constitutes "use" of a trade mark in respect of clothing goods in trade. The answer, on these facts, was no.

Trade mark law requires that a mark be used to distinguish goods offered in trade — to signal commercial origin to consumers who are choosing between competing products in the marketplace. The use must be in the course of trade, not simply as part of internal club activity.

The photos in Sarantidis's evidence showed members wearing their gear at club events and on rides. They showed the Compadres name functioning as a badge of club identity and membership — a declaration of belonging to the Compadres community. They did not show the clothing being offered for sale to the public, advertised for purchase, or presented to consumers as a commercial product line.

The Supplier Letter: Not What It Seemed

The letter from QLM — a supplier — confirmed that custom gear had been ordered. This might sound like evidence of commercial activity, but the delegate identified its limitations. The letter didn't specify what goods were ordered or that they bore the Compadres Australia trade mark as registered. More fundamentally, a club ordering custom gear for its own members from a supplier is internal procurement — not commercial trade in clothing with the public.

Even if some arguable use existed, there was a further problem: much of the use appeared to be by "Compadres Christian Motorcycle Club" as an unincorporated entity or organisation, not by Sarantidis personally as the registered owner. No evidence of authorised use — no licence agreement, no evidence of control over how the club used the mark — was provided under section 8 of the Act.

The Decision

The registration was removed. The discretion under section 101(3) was not exercised: the mark was ill-suited to the Opponent's actual activities, no commercial clothing business was demonstrated, and maintaining the registration would serve no legitimate trade mark purpose. Costs were awarded against Sarantidis.

Practical Takeaways

• Club use of a mark is not the same as trade mark use. Wearing a mark as a badge of group identity — however widespread among members — is not the same as using it to distinguish commercial goods offered in trade. The distinction matters legally and practically.

• A trade mark in Class 25 requires commercial trade in clothing. If your organisation creates branded apparel for internal use by members, a Class 25 trade mark registration may not accurately reflect your use. Consider whether the registration is appropriate for your actual activities.

• Authorised use by associated entities must be documented. If an unincorporated club, association, or related entity is using a mark that you own as an individual, a written authorisation or licence is essential. Informal arrangements leave gaps that will be exploited in non-use proceedings.

• Volume of evidence is not the same as quality of evidence. Fifty-seven exhibits, however impressive in number, must still speak to the legal question at hand. Photos of members in club gear don't establish commercial trade in clothing — no matter how many you file.

Citation: Constantine Arthur Sarantidis v COMPADRES MINISTRIES PTY LTD [2026] ATMO 142 (28 July 2026)

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