Case No. EWHC-11-(IPEC)

1.Cormeton Fire Protection Limited, the Claimant, has since 1967 been in the business of providing mechanical fire protection solutions (including fire extinguishers). In 1989, to expand its business into electronic fire protection solutions (such as fire alarms), the Claimant teamed up (to use a neutral term) with Mr John Aitchison, the Second Defendant. Cormeton Electronics Limited, the First Defendant, was registered as the corporate entity to run this new endeavour from the Claimant’s premises. All went well. In 2003, the First Defendant, requiring more space, moved out. Both parties continued to trade under names which included the word CORMETON, and used similar logos. While there were some reports of alleged confusion (to which I refer below), the parties continued to cross-refer work to each other, and were on good terms. This changed in or about 2015, when the parties fell out. In 2016, the Claimant applied to register the word CORMETON as a trade mark. Following pre-action correspondence, these proceedings were commenced in 2019. The Court is thus required to address the issue of two businesses which have traded in similar fields and under similar names for a long period of time, and which used to work together but which are now hostile to one another. In short, the Court is asked to determine who gets to use the word CORMETON, and for what goods and services. 2.The Particulars of Claim allege: i)Infringement of UK trade mark number 3164199 for the word mark CORMETON (the Mark), registered for various goods and services in Nice classes 6, 9, 37, 40, 41, 42 and 45. Infringement is alleged under sections 10(1), 10(2) and 10(3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (the TMA); ii)Infringement of copyright said to subsist in the following artistic work (the Work) under sections 16(1)(a), (b) and (c) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (the CDPA): ; and iii)Passing off. 3.Specifically, the Claimant complains that use of the following signs (the