were sharp declines in registrations from Australia (down 41 to 18), Italy (down 23 to 12), China (down 12 to 9), and Malaysia (down 11 to 4).
98. 786 marks were removed from the Register for non-payment of the registration renewal fee, and seven cancelled at the request of the registered proprietors. The total number of marks on the Register on 31st March 1966 was therefore 20,940 comprising 2,743 re-registered pre-war marks and 18,197 new marks.
Oppositions
99. Twenty-three oppositions were pending at the beginning of the year, and eight further notices of opposition were received during the year. Five opposed applications were withdrawn, three were abandoned, one was withdrawn, and one went to a hearing before the Registrar, leaving twenty-one pending at the end of the year. Oppositions rarely go to a hearing before the Registrar; usually one side or the other withdraws, or the parties arrive at some compromise arrangement acceptable to the Registrar.
100. The hearing before the Registrar concerned an application for registration of 'Red Spot' with device in Class 5 in respect of pharma- ceutical preparations, opposed by the proprietors of the registered trade mark 'Vest' (No. 416 of 1963). Mr. S. D. OATES, Acting Senior Legal Assistant, who took the hearing, decided in favour of the Applicants, and the application was accordingly allowed to proceed.
Statistics
101. Part I of Table XVIII gives statistics of applications, registra- tions, renewals, removals and cancellations, for the ten years 1956-57 to 1965-66, and Part II gives statistics of miscellaneous other work done during the year with the corresponding figures for the previous year. It will be seen from Part I that there have been increases in the numbers of renewals and removals, the former having increased from 1,428 to 1,708 and the latter from 718 to 786. The renewals effected were in respect of marks registered in 1951-52 under the old Ordinance and therefore valid for 14 years and of marks registered in 1958-59 under the new Ordinance valid for seven years. The increase in renewals was due to there being more 1951-52 registrations renewed this year than 1950-51 registrations renewed last year.
31