Vertical Leisure Ltd v Poleplus Ltd

Vertical Leisure Ltd v Poleplus Ltd

Registration and offer for sale of domain names incorporating the claimant's trade marks by Mr Bowley constituted passing off as it amounted to a misrepresentation to the public and created instruments of fraud, following the principles in BT v One in a Million. Mr Bowley had no realistic prospect of defending the action, and summary judgment was granted against him. However, summary judgment was refused against the first defendant due to insufficient pleading and arguable factual disputes regarding joint tortfeasance.

Parties
Claimant: Vertical Leisure Limited; First Defendant: Poleplus Limited; Second Defendant: Martin Bowley
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
02 June 2014
Procedural Posture
Intellectual Property Infringement (trade Mark and Passing Off) / Application for Summary Judgment
Outcome
Summary judgment granted against the second defendant (Mr Bowley) for passing off; first defendant (Poleplus Limited) granted permission to defend.
Legal Topics
Trade Mark Infringement, Passing Off, Domain Name Disputes, Summary Judgment, Joint Tortfeasance
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Trade Mark Infringement Passing Off Domain Name Disputes Summary Judgment Joint Tortfeasance

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 3 Authorities cited 11 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Vertical Leisure Limited

Claimant

Poleplus Limited

First Defendant

Martin Bowley

Second Defendant

Procedural Posture

Intellectual Property Infringement (trade Mark and Passing Off) / Application for Summary Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether registration and offer for sale of domain names incorporating claimant's trade marks constitutes passing off and/or trade mark infringement
  2. 2 Whether summary judgment should be granted against the defendants
  3. 3 Whether the first defendant is jointly liable with the second defendant for the acts complained of

Ratio Decidendi

Registration and offer for sale of domain names incorporating the claimant's trade marks by Mr Bowley constituted passing off as it amounted to a misrepresentation to the public and created instruments of fraud, following the principles in BT v One in a Million. Mr Bowley had no realistic prospect of defending the action, and summary judgment was granted against him. However, summary judgment was refused against the first defendant due to insufficient pleading and arguable factual disputes regarding joint tortfeasance.

Court Disposition

Summary judgment granted against the second defendant (Mr Bowley) for passing off; first defendant (Poleplus Limited) granted permission to defend.

Orders

  • Order for transfer of the domain names registered by Mr Bowley to the claimant (Vertical Leisure Limited)
  • Permission for the first defendant to defend the claim