Westwood v Knight [2012] EWPCC 14 (24 April 2012)

Westwood v Knight [2012] EWPCC 14 (24 April 2012)

The defendant was in contempt of court for failing to comply with mandatory orders to deliver up infringing goods, serve a confirmatory affidavit, and transfer domain names, and for continuing to infringe the claimant's intellectual property rights and pass off goods in breach of injunctions. The defendant's asserted reasons for non-compliance (illness, appeal, ombudsman complaint) did not justify or excuse his conduct. The evidence established breaches to the criminal standard of proof.

Citation
[2012] EWPCC 14
Parties
Claimant: Dame Vivienne Westwood OBE; Defendant: Anthony Edward Knight
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
24 April 2012
Procedural Posture
Contempt of Court Application (committal Proceedings) / Judgment on Committal Application
Outcome
Application for committal granted in part; defendant found in contempt of court on specified grounds.
Legal Topics
Trade Mark Infringement, Copyright Infringement, Passing Off, Committal for Contempt, Injunctions, Enforcement of Court Orders
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Contempt of Court Trade Mark Infringement Copyright Infringement Passing Off Committal for Contempt Injunctions +1 more

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Parties

Dame Vivienne Westwood OBE

Claimant

Anthony Edward Knight

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Contempt of Court Application (committal Proceedings) / Judgment on Committal Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendant is in contempt of court for failing to comply with orders relating to delivery up of infringing goods, service of affidavit, transfer of domain names, and prohibitions on infringing and passing off activities.

Ratio Decidendi

The defendant was in contempt of court for failing to comply with mandatory orders to deliver up infringing goods, serve a confirmatory affidavit, and transfer domain names, and for continuing to infringe the claimant's intellectual property rights and pass off goods in breach of injunctions. The defendant's asserted reasons for non-compliance (illness, appeal, ombudsman complaint) did not justify or excuse his conduct. The evidence established breaches to the criminal standard of proof.

Court Disposition

Application for committal granted in part; defendant found in contempt of court on specified grounds.

Orders

  • Defendant found in contempt of court on grounds #1 to #7 and #9 to #17.
  • Grounds #8, #9(ii), and #18 dismissed.