the Court of Appeal ruling for the facts of this case. On appeal the Court held that (1) it was not clear whe" />

Cases

O2 Holdings Ltd & Anor v Hutchison 3G UK Ltd (ECJ)

Held

The Trade Mark Directive and the Comparative Advertising Directive must be reconciled. On their proper interpretation a proprietor was not entitled to prevent the use by a third party trader of a sign identical, or similar to, his mark in comparative advertising where all the conditions laid down in art 3a(1)(d) of the Comparative Advertising Directive were met: that is, the proprietor was permitted to do so only where the mark was being used in the course of trade, without consent, in respect to similar or identical goods, and in a way likely to cause confusion.

In the present case, it was accepted that the advertisement had not given rise to the likelihood of confusion on the part of consumers as to any commercial link between the claimants and the defendant. Consequently it was held that there was no need to examine the subsequent questions referred.

Also