Report of Trade Mark Cases For the CIPA Journal September 2025

We report on the Court of Appeal’s decision in easyGroup v Easy Live (Services), where easyGroup’s appeal was allowed in part, finding infringement of their EASYLIFE marks by use of EASY LIVE (but not by use of other signs incorporating EASY LIVE), while Easy Live (Services) cross-appeal was also partly allowed, leading to partial revocation of a specification of services. We also report on the Court of Appeal’s decision in easyGroup v Easyfundraising, where the appeal was partly successful in certain respects with respect to revocation, though findings of non-infringement were upheld. We also report on the IPEC’s decision in Wise Payments v With Wise, where Wise Payments established infringement in relation to payroll and invoicing services while With Wise succeeded in its counterclaim for passing off in relation to payroll services. Either side's use of the word Wise in respect of payroll services would therefore infringe the other's right. Lastly we provide a summary on the High Court’s decision in Lifestyle Equities v SportsDirect.com Retail, where it was held that unregistered licensee losses may still be taken into account in an inquiry as to damages for trade mark infringement.

Read the report here