Twinsectra Ltd v Yardley, 2002 UKHL 12
Citation:Twinsectra Ltd v Yardley, 2002 UKHL 12
Rule of thumb 1:What is the basic legal rule for trade mark registration? The general rule is first come first serve to get a name or phrase as a registered ‘trademark’, unless another party can show that they were using the name or phrase as a general unregistered ‘trade mark’ for a long period beforehand with goodwill attached to it.
Rule of thumb 2:Is the standard for honesty/dishonesty objective or subjective? The standard is objective – even if someone says it was a genuine mistake, if it looks dishonest objectively to the reasonable person it must be held to be dishonest.
Judgment:
Although it is generally speaking a first come, first serve system with trade marks, where it can be shown that someone has registered a trade mark to prevent someone else obtaining it, or stop someone one else from using it, this application can be challenged.
Ratio-decidendi:
‘dishonesty requires knowledge by the defendant that what he was doing would be regarded as dishonest by honest people, although he should not escape a finding of dishonesty because he sets his own standards of honesty and does not regard as dishonest what he knows would offend the normally high standards of honest conduct’, at 36.
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.