Can You Be More Specific?

It's been over a year since the High Court's decision in Sky plc v SkyKick UK Ltd [2018] EWHC 155 (Ch) where important questions on trade mark issues relating to bad faith (for filing with no intention to use) and clarity of specifications were referred to the CJEU. On 6 September 2018 the Court of Appeal refused to grant Sky permission to appeal the decision on the basis of procedural complexity, commenting that it would be far better to let the reference to the CJEU take its course and, if necessary, hear an appeal to the Court of Appeal when a final outcome is known.

We are still waiting for a date to be set for the matter to go before the CJEU and, in the meantime, trade mark owners are faced with a period of uncertainty. The CJEU's decision could have wide-ranging implications by invalidating or partially invalidating many existing registered trade marks.