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ARTICLE · 29 APRIL 2008

Comparative Advertising

Lawrence Graham LLP: Commerce & Technology
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Recent decisions in the UK and European courts have restricted the use of trademark law to resolve comparative advertising disputes, making it easier for an advertiser to use a competitor's trade mark in its own adverts.

United KingdomIntellectual Property
Georgie Collins
Georgie Collins

Open season?

Recent decisions in the UK and European courts have restricted the use of trade mark law to resolve comparative advertising disputes, making it easier for an advertiser to use a competitor's trade mark in its own adverts. Such disputes should now be dealt with under the Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive, but brand owners believe this provides them with a far less rigorous mechanism of enforcement and redress. So, what has happened to bump the challenging legal field of comparative advertising out of the arena of trade mark law? Georgie Collins takes a closer look at the two cases in question.

02 and Hutchinson 3G (2008)

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