Manchester Solicitors

Passing off

• In legal terms passing off occurs where goods or services are offered in a similar way to another business in a way that deceives the consumer into believing that they are buying the goods or services of that person or business that they trust and are familiar with.

The effect of passing off is that the consumer is

• misled into buying goods he/she does not want
• the licensed business loses the revenue on unsold ‘real’ products and services
• the licensed business reputation can be damaged if the products or services were not up to standard
• the business selling the licensed business’s products or services receives unlawful payment

The law on passing-off is complicated and requires strong evidence in order to be successful.

The onus is on the claimant (licensed business) to prove that:

• it has goodwill
• The defendant misrepresented the public which led to confusion
• Misrepresentation damaged the goodwill of the claimant

It is time consuming to prove theses elements and the biggest difficulty is in proving that the goodwill exists.