Latest Cases

Copyright – Database. The Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court held that the defendant software company, Hubcreate Ltd, had not infringed the claimant, Ultrasoft Technologies Ltd's copyrights or database rights beyond infringements already admitted because none of Hubcreate's customers, other than the one for which infringement had already been admitted, had had access to Ultrasoft Ltd's software. 

Contract – Construction. The Technology and Construction Court construed a settlement agreement made between the claimant mobile network operator EE Ltd, formerly known as T-Mobile (UK) Ltd and the defendant mobile virtual network operator, Mundio Mobile Ltd (MML). Among other things, it held that a new marketing support fund only became available to MML once it had complied with its 'Minimum Year to Date Bundle Commitment' up to the end of the previous calendar month. 

Contempt of court – Committal. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed an appeal against the discharge of a committal order which had resulted in the defendant's early release from prison. In doing so, the court gave guidance to the effect that where the court was minded to act of its own initiative, it should ordinarily, so far as practicable, give notice of its intention to the person or body at whose instance the warrant of committal had been issued. 

European Union – Trade marks. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal by Naazneen Investments Ltd (NIL) to have set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union inNaazneen Investments v Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs): Case T‑250/13, by which the General Court had dismissed its action for annulment of the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM relating to revocation proceedings between Energy Brands Inc. and NIL concerning the assignment to the latter of registration of the word mark 'SMART WATER'. 

Building contract – Contractor. The Technology and Construction Court allowed the claimant company's application for declaratory relief in a dispute concerning the payment obligations under a contract and an escrow agreement. The court held that the first defendant had not made a valid interim application within the meaning of the contract, and thus no default event had occurred within the meaning of the escrow agreement. 

Occupier's liability – Duty of care. The Queen's Bench Division dismissed the claimant's claim for personal injury suffered when a ramp from a horse box fell on him whilst parked at horse show grounds owned and operated by the first defendant with the second defendant operating as an independent contractor. The court found that although the defendants had owed the claimant a duty of care at common law and under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 on the facts the horse box had not been causing an obstruction and therefore the claim had to fail. 

Landlord and tenant – Assignment of lease. The Chancery Division held that a tenant was precluded under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 from assigning the tenancy to its guarantor and any agreement which sought to give effect to such an arrangement was void by reason of s 25(1) of the Act, as it frustrated the purpose of the Act. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Mudhook Marketing Inc. (Mudhook) against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) relating to an application by Mudhook for registration of the word sign 'IPVanish' as a Community trade mark. The Court held that the Board had correctly decided that that sign was devoid of any distinctive character, thereby infringing art 7(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) 207/2009. 

Sentence – Drug offence. On a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that, following concessions made by the prosecution in respect of the level of the defendant's involvement, that it could no longer rely on some of the assertions which had been put forward at the time of sentencing, a term of 14-years-and-8-months' imprisonment for conspiracy to supply cocaine would be reduced to one of 10 years' imprisonment. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division continued a freezing injunction against the first respondent, against whom judgment had been granted in favour of the applicants, and discharged ab initio the freezing injunction against his wife, the second respondent, in respect of whom no judgment had been granted. The eagerness with which the applicants had approached the seeking of freezing relief against the first respondent had misled them into an approach that targeted particular assets in a proprietary way, and thence to obtaining, wrongly, a wholesale freezing order against the second respondent.