Trademarks are an aspect of corporate personality. Image rights involve the commercial appropriation or exploitation of a personality’s identity and associated images. Amazon and other search engines use these names and images as “Adwords” to encourage consumers to click on related items. This, in turn, diminishes the value of a trademark and causes it to become too closely associated with a certain class of goods. In Cosmetic Warriors Limited & Lush Limited v Amazon.co.uk Limited & Amazon EU SARL, [2014] EWHC 181 (Ch), the Judge found Amazon had infringed the registered Community Trade Mark for “LUSH” under Article 5(1)(a) of Directive 2008/95/EC. The infringement stemmed from Amazon’s directing consumers to the sale of equivalent products to those sold by Lush thro... Read More

In the case of Edem v Information Commissioner, [2014] EWCA Civ 92, the Court of Appeal confirmed the scope of its ruling in the Durant case. “An individual's name constitutes their personal data.” Although the Court noted that a name may not constitute an individual's personal data where the name is so common that without further information (such as its use in a work context) a person would remain unidentifiable. The Court narrowed the application of Durant v FSA, [2003] EWCA Civ 1746, where personal data was determined using the following criteria: The data must: • be biographical in a significant sense; and • have the data subject as its focus. However, context was key in the Durant case. Mr Durant had requested access to documents in which he was merely mentioned b... Read More

Abstract: The Image Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance establishes a new form of intellectual property,  previously unrecognised in a registrable form.  Two key concepts anchor the legislation: (1) the "registered personality" and (20) "images" which are associated with or registered against that registered personality.   The core right is the registered personality.  Mickey Mouse can now register his image and be protected forever. Reprint of an article first published in the European Intellectual Property Review,  Issue 7, 2013 Download the Full Insight   Read More

Abstract: Image rights involve the commercial appropriation or exploitation of a person’s identity and associated images linked to that person. They are related to the distinctive expressions, characteristics or attributes of, or associated with, a personality made available to public perception. Image rights are an integral part of artistic expression and a product of celebrity or sporting achievement in the twenty-first century. Image Rights (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance establishes a new form of intellectual property, previously unrecognized in a registrable form. Two key concepts anchor the legislation: (1) the “registered personality”, and (2) “images” which are associated with or registered against that registered personality. The core right is the registered personalit... Read More