Brands with a strong reputation in the UK enjoy broader rights than those which do not. Natalie Chant, Solicitor and Paul Cox, Partner provide further insight.
In a recent case before the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC), Claridge’s, the luxury London hotel, brought a claim against candle maker Claridge Candles and its owner and sole director for trade mark infringement and passing off. Claridge's Hotel is a well-known hotel in London which has traded under the brand CLARIDGE'S since 1889. Claridge Candles is a small company based in Kent, England which sold candles and reed diffusers since around September 2018 and planned to sell other goods.
As is typical in this Court, the parties agreed a number of ways to streamline the procedure in order to save time and costs, which included agreeing that the success of the passing off claim would depend on the trade mark infringement claim under section 10(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 ("the Act") and that any finding of trade mark infringement under section 10(3) the Act for any good, would apply to all goods sold by the defendants. Such concessions would have saved a significant amount of time perhaps to ensure that the case was heard before the IPEC which is normally limited to no more than a 2 day trial...
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