GUANGZHOU GREEN-ENHAN BIO-ENGINEERING CO LTD AND ANOTHER v. SUN YAT SEN UNIVERSITY AND OTHERS

GUANGZHOU GREEN-ENHAN BIO-ENGINEERING CO LTD AND ANOTHER v. SUN YAT SEN UNIVERSITY AND OTHERS

The judge applied a global balancing approach: the parties' respective successes and failures largely offset each other, the claims and evidence were intertwined, and identified misconduct and preparation failures on both sides warranted discounts. Taking those factors and existing interlocutory costs orders into account, the court exercised its discretion to vary the costs order nisi and directed that, subject to prior costs orders, each party bear their own costs of the action.

Citation
GUANGZHOU GREEN-ENHAN BIO-ENGINEERING CO LTD AND ANOTHER v. SUN YAT SEN UNIVERSITY AND OTHERS
Parties
1st Plaintiff: Guangzhou Green-Enhan Bio-Engineering Co. Ltd; 1st Defendant: 1st Defendant; 2nd Defendant: 2nd Defendant; 3rd Defendant: 3rd Defendant
Court
Court of First Instance
Jurisdiction
Hong Kong
Judgment Date
8 June 2005
Case Number
HCA2802/2003
Procedural Posture
Civil Intellectual Property, Contractual and Tort Claims / Costs Application Following Judgment (post Trial Ruling on Costs)
Outcome
Costs order nisi varied; subject to earlier costs orders, each party to bear own costs of the action; no order as to costs of the variation application
Legal Topics
Passing Off, Trade Mark Invalidity, Copyright, Costs, Interlocutory Injunction, Malicious Falsehood, Rectification of Register, Breach of Agreement
Source Language
EN
Intellectual Property Contract Civil Procedure Tort Passing Off Trade Mark Invalidity Copyright Costs +4 more

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Parties

Guangzhou Green-Enhan Bio-Engineering Co. Ltd

1st Plaintiff

1st Defendant

1st Defendant

2nd Defendant

2nd Defendant

3rd Defendant

3rd Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil Intellectual Property, Contractual and Tort Claims / Costs Application Following Judgment (post Trial Ruling on Costs)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the 1st and 2nd Defendants should pay the Plaintiffs costs or vice versa
  2. 2 Whether costs of the interlocutory injunction application should be awarded against the Plaintiffs
  3. 3 Appropriate allocation of costs between intertwined claims (passing off, copyright, trade mark, breach of agreement)

Ratio Decidendi

The judge applied a global balancing approach: the parties' respective successes and failures largely offset each other, the claims and evidence were intertwined, and identified misconduct and preparation failures on both sides warranted discounts. Taking those factors and existing interlocutory costs orders into account, the court exercised its discretion to vary the costs order nisi and directed that, subject to prior costs orders, each party bear their own costs of the action.

Court Disposition

Costs order nisi varied; subject to earlier costs orders, each party to bear own costs of the action; no order as to costs of the variation application

Orders

  • Subject to costs orders already made, each party shall bear his own costs of the action.
  • No order as to costs regarding the application to vary the costs order nisi.