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Law Cases
Intellectual Property Law Cases
Passing Off Cases

Reckitt & Colman Ltd v Borden Inc [1990] 1 All E.R. 873

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Held

  • Claimant manufactured Jif lemons.

  • Defendant wished to produce lemon juice holders almost identical to those of Jif.

  • Claimant argued that Defendant was passing off. Defendant argued that use of a lemon to hold lemon juice was both common to the trade, and descriptive.

Held

  • On facts:

    1. Use of plastic lemon not ‘descriptive’

      • Even if the plastic lemon was descriptive, had acquired a secondary meaning

      • However in any case probably only words can be descriptive

    2. Use of plastic lemons not ‘common to the trade’

      • Plastic lemons were not in general use in UK; Jif was the sole provider

  • Thus Defendant was passing off, and could only market plastic lemons if they had sufficient distinguishing features from Jif.

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