High Court dismisses strike out action and clarifies jurisdiction rules (Horsham Nutraceuticals v Manna Pro Products)

Article summary

IP analysis: The High Court has dismissed applications for strike out and summary judgment in the context of a dispute relating to rights in the CORTAFLEX name. In doing so, it has clarified the jurisdiction of the English courts in disputes relating to the validity of EUTMs. The High Court was not persuaded that the English courts did not have jurisdiction to hear the invalidity action in the case pursuant to Article 60(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the basis that the counterclaim was not brought in infringement proceedings. Its interpretation of the legislation was that an EUTM’s validity could be put in issue by any counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity, provided that the counterclaim was closely related to the claim and that the claim directly related to an EUTM: this need not necessarily be a counterclaim brought in infringement proceedings. However, a national court would only be able to make such a declaration of...