The plaintiff’s sales manager resigned, but took with him confidential documents which he gave to a newspaper. The defendant sought to justify this, saying that the company had failed to register agreements it should have done under the Act.
Held: The media might make disclosure of material which would otherwise be protected by commercial confidence where it was intended to expose iniquity or other misconduct falling short of iniquity. Discussing Gartside -v- Outram, the principle is not limited to where a master was guilty of fraud or a crime, but extended to ‘misconduct of such a nature that it ought in the public interest to be disclosed to others . . Provided that the discolsure is in the public interest’ Wood V-C: ‘There is no confidence as to the disclosure of iniquity.’
Salmon LJ said: `I do not think that the law would lend assistance to anyone who is proposing to commit and to continue to commit a clear breach of a statutory duty imposed in the public interest.’ but but ‘what was iniquity in 1856 may be too narrow or . . too wide for 1967’
Judges:
Lord Denning MR, Wood V-C, Salmon LJ
Citations:
[1967] 3 All ER 145, [1968] 1 QB 396
Statutes:
Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1956
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Gartside v Outram 1856
An employee was told by his master ‘I am going to falsify these sales notes and deceive the customers. You are not to say anything about it to anyone.’ He thereafter falsified the sale notes.
Held: The servant was entitled to say: ‘I am not . .
Cited – Annesley v Earl of Anglesea 1743
‘no private obligations can dispense with that universal one which lies on every member of the society to discover every design which may be formed, contrary to the laws of the society, to destroy the public welfare.’ . .
Cited by:
Cited – British Steel Corporation v Granada Television Ltd HL 7-May-1980
The defendant had broadcast a TV programme using material confidential to the plaintiff, who now sought disclosure of the identity of the presumed thief.
Held: (Lord Salmon dissenting) The courts have never recognised a public interest right . .
Cited – Hyde Park Residence Ltd v Yelland, News Group Newspapers Ltd, News International Ltd, Murrell CA 10-Feb-2000
The court considered a dispute about ownership and confidence in and copyright of of video tapes taken by Princess Diana before her death.
Held: The courts have an inherent discretion to refuse to enforce of copyright. When assessing whether . .
Cited – Lion Laboratories Ltd v Evans CA 1985
Lion Laboratories manufactured and marketed the Lion Intoximeter which was used by the police for measuring blood alcohol levels of motorists. Two ex-employees approached the Press with four documents taken from Lion. The documents indicated that . .
Cited – Vickerstaff v Edbro Plc CA 28-Jan-1997
The appellant’s employment had terminated in circumstances where he had threatened to publicise matters about the defendant’s activities, but had failed to co-operate with the company in investigating his allegations by particularising them.
Cited – Terry (previously LNS) v Persons Unknown QBD 29-Jan-2010
The claimant (then known as LNS) had obtained an injunction to restrain publication of private materials.
Held: There was insufficient material to found an action in confidence or privacy. An applicant was unlikely to succeed either at an . .
Cited – In re A (A Minor) FD 8-Jul-2011
An application was made in care proceedings for an order restricting publication of information about the family after the deaths of two siblings of the child subject to the application. The Sun and a local newspaper had already published stories . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice, Media, Intellectual Property
Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.193353