Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

IPEC summary judgment upholds BABEK device mark: clarity, precision and consistency in visual/verbal representations under TMA 1994 and Sieckmann; pedantic invalidity challenge rejected (Babek International v Iceland Foods)

Published on: 15 May 2025

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

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Article summary

Babek International Ltd v Iceland Foods Ltd and another [2025] EWHC 547 (IPEC)

What are the practical implications of this case?

Section 1(1) of the TMA 1994 underscores that any trade mark protection claimed must be articulated with clarity and precision, and that alignment matters, notably between how the mark looks and how it is described in words. The rationale is largely obvious: the registry must be able to identify with certainty the subject of trade mark entries so it can administer the registers, and the public likewise requires that certainty to gauge the scope of others’ rights. In day-to-day terms, however, how exact and unambiguous must the graphical and textual depictions actually be? His Honour Judge Hacon observed that acceding to Iceland’s bid would mean attributing to the competent authority and to the public a level of pedantry which, if the law demanded it, would render the trade mark system incapable of functioning. Accordingly, unnecessary pedantry would risk paralysing the regime in everyday practice...

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