Trade Marks: British Shorinji Kempo Federation v Shorinji Kempo Unity
Two interesting points arose in British Shorinji Kempo Federation v Shorinji Kempo Unity [2014] EWHC 285 (Ch) (17 Feb 2014) in which my colleague Thomas Dillon appeared for the British Shorinji Kempo Foundation ("BSKF") on a pro bono basis. The first was what constitutes genuine use for the purpose of s.6A of the Trade Marks Act 1994 . The second was the methodology by which the judge determined whether the mark that had BSKF sought to register was similar to one that had previously been registered by Shorinji Kempo Unity ("SKU") and if so whether there was any likelihood of confusion for the purposes of s.5 (2) of the Act. The Parties SKU is an entity whose function is to hold the intellectual property rights of the World Shorinji Kempo Organisation ("WSKO") . WKSO had many branches or affiliated organizations around the world. According to WSKO's website, Shorinji Kempo is a Japanese martial art founded in the town of Tadotsu in 1947. The B...
