Caspian Pizza Ltd & Ors v Shah & Anor [2017] EWCA Civ 1874 (23 November 2017)

Caspian Pizza Ltd & Ors v Shah & Anor [2017] EWCA Civ 1874 (23 November 2017)

Local goodwill sufficient to found an action for passing off in a particular locality is enough to invalidate a national trade mark registration under s.5(4)(a) TMA 1994. There is no power to limit a declaration of invalidity geographically after registration. The approach in SWORDERS is to be preferred over Redd.

Citation
[2017] EWCA Civ 1874
Parties
Appellant/claimant: Caspian Pizza Limited; Appellant/claimant: Behzad Zarandi; Appellant/claimant: Nadar Zand; Appellant/claimant: Caspian Franchise Holdings Limited; Respondent/defendant: Maskeen Shah; Respondent/defendant: Malvern Hills Estates Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
23 November 2017
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment
Outcome
Appeal dismissed; cross-appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Trade Mark Infringement, Passing Off, Trade Mark Validity, Earlier Rights, Geographical Scope of Goodwill
Intellectual Property Commercial Law Trade Mark Infringement Passing Off Trade Mark Validity Earlier Rights Geographical Scope of Goodwill

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Caspian Pizza Limited

Appellant/claimant

Behzad Zarandi

Appellant/claimant

Nadar Zand

Appellant/claimant

Caspian Franchise Holdings Limited

Appellant/claimant

Maskeen Shah

Respondent/defendant

Malvern Hills Estates Limited

Respondent/defendant

Procedural Posture

Appeal / Court of Appeal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Caspian Mark and Device Mark were invalidly registered under s.5(4)(a) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 due to earlier local goodwill of the defendants
  2. 2 Whether a declaration of invalidity should be limited geographically
  3. 3 Whether the approach in SWORDERS or Redd is correct for s.5(4)(a)

Ratio Decidendi

Local goodwill sufficient to found an action for passing off in a particular locality is enough to invalidate a national trade mark registration under s.5(4)(a) TMA 1994. There is no power to limit a declaration of invalidity geographically after registration. The approach in SWORDERS is to be preferred over Redd.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed; cross-appeal allowed

Orders

  • Declaration of invalidity in respect of the Caspian Mark upheld
  • Declaration of invalidity in respect of the Device Mark granted