The court considered whether the goodwill generated by a funk music band called Liberty 1, which had been formed in the late 1980s, was still subsisting in March 2001. Laddie J considered the relevant principles, reviewed the authorities, and said ‘There is one other general matter to deal with before turning to the facts, namely the size of the claimant’s reputation. At some point a reputation may be respected by such a small group of people that it will not support a passing-off action. Neither Mr. Purle nor Mr. Speck were able to formulate a test for this bottom level. Mr. Purle said it was a matter of fact and degree. I agree with that. The law of passing off protects the goodwill of a small business as much as the large, but it will not intervene to protect the goodwill which any reasonable person would consider trivial’.
Judges:
Laddie J
Citations:
[2002] EMLR 28
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Minimax Gmbh and Co Kg v Chubb Fire Ltd PatC 29-Jul-2008
Chubb sought to prevent the registration of a mark by the claimant arguing that its use would amount to passing off as against its own marks.
Held: There was insufficient evidence for the hearing officer to have found that Chubb had maintained . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.273189