Passing off is a 'civil wrong' or tort closely related to trade mark law. Passing off involves one trader somehow misrepresenting its goods or services as being those of another trader, or vice versa. If a competitor passes itself off as you, it can cost your business dearly.
Sep 7, 2021Abstract. An action in passing off provides a very good remedy and supplement to copyrights law, where there is no infringement of rights.
The law of passing off prevents one trader from misrepresenting goods or services as being the goods and services of another, and also prevents a trader from holding out his or her goods or services as having some association or connection with another when this is not true.
Can a trademark be passed off?
A person taking advantage of the protections offered through the law of passing off must firstly show that they own the trademark in question, and that they have built up a reputation around it, which is being damaged by another’s unauthorised use of it ( www.itma.org.uk ).
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Does the law of passing off protect intellectual property rights?
Therefore while the law of passing off has in many ways been superseded by statutory protections which are more effective in a lot of ways, protection of intellectual property rights are still protected, albeit to a lesser extent where this legislation does not operate, through the common law of passing off.
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Goodwill Owned by A Trader
Goodwill is the good name and reputation of a business, built up over time, which increases the likelihood of customers using or continuing to use that business’s products or services.
The law of passing off seeks to protect a party’s goodwill and reputation from unauthorised exploitation by third parties.
The existence of goodwill in a particular .
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Misrepresentation by Another Trader
The court will then consider whether the defendant has made a misrepresentation (usually concerning use of a brand or get-up that is sufficiently similar to the claimant’s brand or get-up) that causes or is likely to cause a consumer to believe that the goods or services of the defendant are the good or services of the claimant.
This is again a fac.
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What is a passing off right?
A less familiar form of intellectual property (IP) right, passing off right applies to protect unregistered rights associated with a particular business, its goods or services.
A very valuable asset for brand owners, this right protects 'goodwill' of an owner and protects a brand's value.
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What is the tort of passing off?
Passing off is a common law tort which can be used to enforce unregistered trade mark rights.
The tort of passing off protects the goodwill of a trader from misrepresentation.
UK copyright law regarding the author's personal interests
Moral rights in United Kingdom law are parts of copyright law that protect the personal interests of the author of a copyrighted work, as well as the economic interests protected by other elements of copyright.
Found in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the moral rights are the right to be identified as the author of a work, known as the right of paternity, the right to object to derogatory treatment of a work, known as the right of integrity, the right not to be identified as the author of someone else's work, and the right to privacy.
The right of paternity exists for the entire copyright term, and requires individuals who commercially broadcast, sell, perform or exhibit literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works to identify the author of the work – but this does not apply to things such as typefaces, encyclopaedias or works subject to crown copyright.
