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Law Cases
Intellectual Property Law Cases
Passing Off Cases

British Telecommunications Plc v One in a Million Ltd [1999] 1 W.L.R. 903

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Held

  • Defendant were dealers in Internet domain names; had deliberately registered domain names consisting of names of trademarks of well-known businesses without those business’s consent.

  • Claimant, one company whose name had been registered by Defendant in numerous forms, sued Defendant for passing off.

Held

  • Is passing off where Defendant is equipped with, or intends to equip another with, an instrument of fraud.

  • Whether a name is instrument of fraud is matter to be determined by all the circumstances; including:

    • Similarity of names

    • Intention of Defendant

  • On facts, names were instruments of fraud.

    • I.e. Defendant intended to extract money from Claimant by express or implied threat that Defendant or someone else could make use of its name.

  • Therefore was passing off and threatened passing off.

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