Bad Faith Trademark Applications And Invalidity

A recent decision of the UK High Court of Justice raises some interesting issues concerning trademark applications alleged to have been obtained in bad faith.

The Facts

The plaintiffs were the owners of EU trademark registrations for the trademark SKY for use in association with a lengthy series of goods and services. The plaintiffs alleged that Skykick UK Limited and Skykick Inc. (the Defendants) infringed the plaintiffs' registered trademarks.

The Plaintiffs

The plaintiffs made extensive use of the trade mark SKY in relation to a range of goods and services, and in particular goods and services relating to Sky's core business areas of (i) television broadcasting, (ii) telephony and (iii) provision of broadband services. The Defendants accepted that, by November 2014, SKY was a household name in the UK and Ireland in those areas.