June 2012 - Page 3 of 21

Trademark registration for clothing brand refused due to likely confusion, regardless of claims of copying or bad faith

By: Decisis

The Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision and upheld the refusal of a trademark registration for a clothing company’s 'Diesel' mark in Ireland. The case arose from a protracted dispute between an Italian fashion company and an Irish manufacturer, each seeking to register the ‘Diesel’ trademark for jeans. The High Court had previously ruled in favour of the Italian company, reasoning that although consumer confusion would result, the confusion stemmed from alleged wrongful copying by the Irish company. However, the Court of Appeal held that Irish law requires refusal of registration whenever confusion would result, regardless of blame or the cause of confusion. The court further found that the earlier High Court judgment, which recognised the Irish applicant as the proprietor of the mark, was conclusive (res judicata) and should not have been revisited. Consequently, confusion alone was sufficient to bar registration, and claims of copying or bad faith were irrelevant to this outcome. The appellate court confirmed that the Italian company’s applications must be refused and invited the parties to make submissions on costs and the final order.

Application to halt presidential election and challenge nomination process refused as non-justiciable

By: Decisis

The High Court struck out an application seeking to declare the process for nominating presidential candidates unconstitutional and to prevent the presidential election from proceeding, holding that such matters are political rather than legal and therefore not justiciable. The plaintiff’s claims—alleging unconstitutional interference by political party instructions and asserting that only he was a valid candidate—were found to be unstateable, as no breach of the legal nomination requirements was demonstrated and the relevant constitutional provisions had been approved via referendum. The court clarified that changes to the presidential nomination process are a matter for the Oireachtas and the people, not for judicial intervention.

Manslaughter conviction quashed as re-entry to burning building found to break chain of causation

By: Decisis

The Court of Appeal overturned a conviction for manslaughter that had been imposed by the Circuit Criminal Court after a fatal fire in an apartment building. Although the accused was found guilty by a jury of causing the fire (arson) and burglary, the central issue on appeal concerned whether the chain of causation between the accused’s actions and the deceased’s death remained intact, given that the deceased had safely escaped the burning building before voluntarily re-entering it and succumbing to smoke inhalation. The Court held that, as the deceased acted independently after reaching safety and not as a direct or foreseeable consequence of the accused’s actions, the act of returning broke the chain of causation and the accused’s arson could not be considered a significant contributing factor to the death. The court concluded that the trial judge erred in allowing the manslaughter count to go to the jury, quashed the manslaughter conviction, and allowed the appeal.

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Trademark registration for clothing brand refused due to likely confusion, regardless of claims of copying or bad faith

Application to halt presidential election and challenge nomination process refused as non-justiciable

Manslaughter conviction quashed as re-entry to burning building found to break chain of causation

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