Passing off

It was established that passing off was characterised by five characteristics which had to be present in order to create a valid cause of action (i) there had to be a misrepresentation; (ii) made by a trader in the course of trade; (iii) to prospective customers of his or ultimate consumers of goods and services supplied by him; (iv) which was calculated to injure the business or goodwill of another trader; and (v) which caused actual damage to the business or goodwill of the trader by whom the action was brought.

The term “extended passing off” was a term that referred to a type of case in which suppliers of products of a particular description, sought to restrain rival traders from using that description or a confusingly similar term, in relation to goods which did not correspond to that description on the ground of passing off. In regard to misrepresentation, it was for the court