Overview of 2023 UK Trade Mark Cases

In 2023, in the UK, a number of interesting cases involving wide-ranging issues in the intellectual property areas were decided. Asics v. World Champion Imprint Club Ltd concerned a UKIPO opposition whereby the UK differed in its overall finding from the EU. Stitch Editing Ltd v. TikTok Information Technologies UK Ltd was a High Court case (on appeal from the UK Tribunal) regarding the registrability of the mark STITCH. Despite appeal cases being almost always challenging for the appellant (as it would concern a review of the first instance case, and not a re-hearing of a dispute), in certain circumstances, it is the right course of action to take. Marriott Worldwide Corporation v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. involved an invalidation action which started in the UK Tribunal but was also later appealed to the High Court. The case is a useful reminder regarding the territorial scope of co-existence agreements. In Lifestyle Equities CV v. Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club Limited, the English High Court was being asked to determine infringement claims spanning a number of jurisdictions. Lidl v. Tesco involved numerous issues, and the authors note that both sides have filed applications for permission to appeal. This would be useful to shed further light on intention to use marks in the context of bad faith. easyGroup v. Nuclei highlights instances where an absence of evidence of actual confusion will play a pertinent role in determining whether a likelihood of confusion exists. Finally, in Industrial Cleaning Equipment v. Intelligent Cleaning Equipment, departing again from the current EU position, the courts in the UK provide clarity on the "knowledge requirement" for statutory acquiescence.