A two-letter ending is a thin defence against a deceptively similar mark. The Federal Court’s decision in On Clouds GmbH v Cyclonic, Inc [2026] FCA 647 overturned the Registrar’s delegate and refused registration of CYCLONIC in Classes 25 and 40, finding it deceptively similar to On Clouds’ earlier CYCLON mark.

Lenehan J’s analysis is a useful reminder of how the notional consumer’s imperfect recollection actually works: the earlier mark sits wholly inside the later one, the first two syllables are identical, and both words gesture toward the same idea — a cyclone. Visual similarity, aural similarity, and shared connotation combined to create a real, tangible risk of confusion, even though “CYCLON” reads as invented and “CYCLONIC” is a known English word. The Court was unpersuaded that consumers would meaningfully distinguish between them at the point of sale, particularly in fast-moving online and physical apparel channels where brand names sit side by side.

For IP‑intensive businesses, the strategic signals are worth pulling out.

First, clearance work needs to test marks against imperfect recollection — not side-by-side comparison — and weight the front of the word heavily, because that is what consumers carry away.

Second, adding a descriptive or grammatical suffix to an existing mark is a fragile differentiation strategy; if the root carries a recognisable idea, the suffix rarely rescues it.

Third, the Class 25 / Class 40 finding on “closely related” goods and services is a quiet but important point: recycling and textile-processing services are now commonly bundled with apparel retail, which expands the conflict zone for fashion brands well beyond their immediate product class.

And finally, the costs outcome — a $125,000 lump sum against a respondent who neither withdrew its application nor filed a submitting notice — underlines that disengagement is not a costless strategy once an appeal is on foot. Disciplined portfolio review, deliberate suffix and family-mark choices, and a clear exit plan when an opposition turns into litigation are all cheaper than the alternative.

Full judgment: https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2026/2026fca0647