Diageo North America Inc & Anr v Intercontinental Brands (ICB) Ltd & Ors, Ch Div (Arnold J), 19/1/10

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:26:05 GMT

The claimant producer of alcoholic drinks including Smirnoff vodka succeeded in an extended passing off action against the defendant marketer of a drink called VODKAT, which was a mixture of vodka and fermented alcohol having ABV 22%. The court found that the term ‘vodka’ denoted a class of goods with a reputation and a protectable goodwill and that the marketing of VODKAT had been such as to misrepresent to consumers that the product was vodka, and that this was likely to erode the reputation and distinctiveness of the term ‘vodka’.

Intellectual Property

Diageo North America Inc & Anr v Intercontinental Brands (ICB) Ltd & Ors, Ch Div (Arnold J), 19/1/10