Last month, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales handed down its judgment in the highly publicised legal battle between pop star Rihanna, and fashion giant Topshop and its parent company Arcadia Group Brand Ltd (Topshop).  The Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s July 2013 decision that Topshop’s sale of t-shirts showing a photograph of Rihanna – without her consent – constituted passing off.Continue Reading Rihanna v Topshop – UK Court of Appeal upholds decision in landmark passing off judgment

In McCambridge Ltd v Joseph Brennan Bakeries  [2014] IEHC 269 (27 May 2014), the High Court considered the correct approach to assessing an account of profits for passing off.  The Court held that the defendant was obliged to account to the plaintiff for such portion of its profits as were attributable to its decision to dress up the packaging of its sliced brown bread in a get up that unintentionally passed it off as the highly-regarded loaf of the plaintiff.

The Court highlighted that the purpose of an account of profits is not to punish an infringer, but to remove from the infringer any unjust enrichment through stripping out the profits attributable to the infringement.Continue Reading Guidance on assessing an account of profits for passing-off