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25 September 2008
Issue: 7338 / Categories: Features , Commercial
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The phantom menace

Jonathan Cohen reports on phantom passengers, terminating contracts and trade mark confusion

Returning to their desks after what passed for a British summer, commercial litigators can take some consolation from three recent decisions in which the judiciary have provided us with useful guidance in areas which often prove complex:
      ●     how a contract can be terminated effectively against the backdrop of litigation;    
      ●     how a fraudulent claim will impact an otherwise genuine piece of litigation; and      
      ●     how to adduce evidence of confusion (or lack of it) when opposing the registration or the continued use of a mark, that is claimed to be similar to a registered trade mark.

The Leofelis litigation

At the outset of his leading judgment in Leofelis SA and Leeside SRL v Lonsdale Sports Ltd, Trade Mark Licensing Co Ltd and Sports World International Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 640, [2008] All ER (D) 87 (Jul) Lord Justice Lloyd commented both on the unusual number of issues in the appeal and noted that whilst it centred on a trade mark licence,

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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