The Trade Marks Act would only be concerned to restrict the use of a mark as a trade mark or in a trade mark sense, and should be construed accordingly. If descriptive words are legitimately registered [as a trade mark], there is still no reason why other people should not be free to use the words in a descriptive sense, and not in any trade mark sense.
Dillon LJ
[1988] RPC 113
Trade Marks Act 1994
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Johnstone HL 22-May-2003
The defendant was convicted under the 1994 Act of producing counterfeit CDs. He argued that the affixing of the name of the artist to the CD was not a trade mark use, and that the prosecution had first to establish a civil offence before his act . .
Distinguished – Bravado Merchandising Services Ltd v Mainstream Publishing (Edinburgh) Ltd SCS 1996
The petitioner was the proprietor of the trade mark Wet Wet Wet (the name of a popular music group). It was registered for (among other classes of goods) books. The defendant intended to publish a book about the group using ‘Wet Wet Wet’ as part of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.182484
