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ARTICLE · 13 MAY 2013

In Counsel - Community Trade Mark Owners Take Note

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A discussion on a recent decision, where the Court of Appeal has upheld two separate High Court decisions concerning parallel Community Trade Mark infringement proceedings.

United KingdomIntellectual Property
Harry Jupp
Harry Jupp

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal has upheld two separate High Court decisions concerning parallel Community Trade Mark (CTM) infringement proceedings.1

Basic facts

In March 2012, BSkyB announced that it was going to launch a new internet television service under the name "NOW TV". This prompted two almost immediate claims for trade mark infringement.

The first was by Starbucks (HK) Ltd, not the famous coffee brand but a Hong Kong television service provider, who owned a CTM comprising "now" for various goods and services including television broadcasting.

The second was by EMI (IP) Ltd, a company within the famous EMI record group, who owned a CTM for the mark "NOW" for goods and services which included sound and audio-visual recordings (used for the NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC! brand).

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