Hong Kong media group has no protectable goodwill in the UK; its Community trade mark is 'now' invalid

Abstract

The Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the High Court's decision that, based on the evidence, the claimant (a Hong Kong-based media group) did not have a valid Community trade mark (CTM) or any goodwill in the UK that would give it the right to prevent BSkyB from using the name ‘NOW TV’ in relation to BSkyB's Internet protocol TV service. The appeal considered the requirement of distinctiveness for a CTM to be valid and whether a reputation established outside the UK could give rise to goodwill in the UK to support a claim for passing off.