The Court of Appeal has partly allowed an appeal by the owner of the LONSDALE trade mark against a finding of misrepresentation and breach of warranty in favour of its licensee.
The court found that the licensor had waived its right to terminate the agreement, holding that the letter of termination was not unequivocal and did not effectively terminate the agreement. It allowed the appeal on misrepresentation and breach of warranty, holding that the licensor's statement was a statement of belief, which was not false. It also held that distribution rights granted to a third party were not rights to use the trade mark.
The case illustrates the importance of giving notice of termination in clear terms which cannot be open to question.
Case: Leofelis SA and another v Lonsdale Sports Limited and others, 1 July 2008.
