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Law Cases
Intellectual Property Law Cases
Passing Off Cases

Warnink v Townsend [1979] AC 731

Country:
United Kingdom
By Oxbridge Law Team
Held

  • Claimant had for many years manufactured a drink in Netherlands called ‘advocaat’ made from brandywine, which was exported to Britain. Advocaat acquired a substantial reputation in UK.

  • Defendant made a drink called ‘Keeling’s Old English Advocaat’ composed of dried egg powder and Cyprus sherry.

  • Even though it could not be shown public had mistaken Defendant’s product for real advocaat, it captured a large part of English market from Claimant.

Held

  • Principles or passing off are not confined to cases in which only one person is entitled to call their goods by a particular description

    • Rather they apply even if several people are entitled to use that description.

    • Here, the description forms part of those person’s goodwill

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