Court of Appeal considers relationship between pictorial representations and written descriptions in trade marks (Babek International Ltd v Iceland Foods Ltd)
IP analysis: On 23 October 2025, The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed by Iceland Food Ltd (Iceland) in trade mark infringement proceedings, following a decision in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) to refuse Iceland’s application for summary judgment on its counterclaim for invalidity of Babek International Ltd's (Babek) UK trade mark registration. Iceland had applied to invalidate Babek's registration on the basis that the registered mark did not meet the requirements under section 1(1) and section 3 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA 1994), arguing that the registration lacked the necessary precision and clarity to identify the mark, based on alleged inconsistencies between the verbal description, the pictorial representation and the colours claimed. The Court of Appeal found that Judge Hacon had applied the incorrect test in determining when colour hues must be specified but, having reconsidered the issues the court concluded that Babek's mark complied with the conditions for registrability, being a single, clear and precise sign, and dismissed Iceland's appeal. The judgment affirms that, when assessing a trade mark, the categorisation of the mark, the pictorial representation and the written description are all relevant to defining the mark to be protected, with the purpose of identifying a single, clear and precise trade mark. Written by Alice Martins, Registered Trade Mark Attorney, and Helene Whelbourn, legal director, at Lee & Thompson LLP.