The plaintiffs owned confidential information relating to novel plastic coated pipes; the defendants were German companies and individuals domiciled in Germany, who it was alleged had used the plaintiffs’ confidential information. One issue the court had to consider was whether, in relation to (non-contractual) claims for breach of confidence, the claims arose in tort, thus giving the court jurisdiction under Article 5(3) of the Brussels Convention (which provided that a person domiciled in a Contracting State may be sued in another Contracting State in matters relating to tort, delict or quasi delict in the courts for the place where the harmful event occurred).
Held: Evans LJ said that the classification of the claims for English law was the starting point for consideration of whether they fell within Article 5(3). It was clear that such claims did not arise in tort.
Judges:
Evans, Waite LJJ, Sir Donald Nicholls VC
Citations:
[1995] FSR 795, [1995] IL Pr 568
Statutes:
Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Applied – Metal und Rohstoff AG v Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette Inc CA 27-Jan-1989
The claimants sued for negligent advice and secured judgment. The defendant company became insolvent, and so the plaintiff now sued the US parent company alleging conspiracy. The court considered a tort of malicious prosecution of a civil claim, . .
Cited by:
Cited – Douglas and others v Hello! Ltd and others (No 3) CA 18-May-2005
The principal claimants sold the rights to take photographs of their wedding to a co-claimant magazine (OK). Persons acting on behalf of the defendants took unauthorised photographs which the defendants published. The claimants had retained joint . .
Cited – Google Inc v Vidal-Hall and Others CA 27-Mar-2015
Damages for breach of Data Protection
The claimants sought damages alleging that Google had, without their consent, collected personal data about them, which was resold to advertisers. They used the Safari Internet browser on Apple products. The tracking and collation of the claimants’ . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property, Torts – Other
Updated: 12 December 2022; Ref: scu.225464