Staywell Hospitality Group Pty Ltd v Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc: 29 Nov 2013

(Singapore – Court of Appeal) The ‘hard-line’ approach to goodwill is the law in Singapore was continued. meaning that a foreign trader who does not conduct any business activity in Singapore will generally not be able to maintain an action in passing off in Singapore. After reviewing the authorities in the UK, Australia and Hong Kong, the Court declined to soften the ‘hard-line’ approach, although it indicated that it might be prepared to do so in some respects if and when the right case came before the court. This approach this ‘draws a clear distinction between goodwill and reputation’.

Judges:

Sundaresh Menon CJ

Citations:

[2014] 1 SLR 911, [2013] SGCA 65

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

Commonwealth

Cited by:

CitedStarbucks (HK) Ltd and Another v British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc and Others SC 13-May-2015
The court was asked whether, as the appellants contended, a claimant who is seeking to maintain an action in passing off need only establish a reputation among a significant section of the public within the jurisdiction, or whether, as the courts . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

International, Intellectual Property

Updated: 12 April 2022; Ref: scu.566018