Kate McIver Skin Ltd & anr (defendants/appellants) v Yours Naturally Naturally Yours Ltd (claimant/respondent)
Thursday 30 November 2023
This is an appeal against the Order of HHJ Hacon dated 20 April 2023 in the Intellectual Property List.
The claimant (“YNNY”) was incorporated on 7 November 2018 by its sole director and shareholder, Georgina Tang. It serves as the vehicle for her business in the manufacture and sale of skin care products, a business previously conducted by Ms Tang in person.
The first defendant (“KMS”) sells skin care products. It, too, was set up as a vehicle for an existing business, that of Kate McIver, now deceased. KMS was incorporated on 20 August 2018 and started trading shortly afterwards. The second defendant, Christopher John McIver, is the widower of Ms McIver and is the personal representative of her estate.
The dispute concerns an anti-age skin serum called “Elixir”. It was created in June 2015 by Ms Tang. From about that date until November 2018 Ms Tang made Elixir and supplied it to wholesale and retail customers around the UK. Since then YNNY has conducted the business.
YNNY alleges that Ms McIver and KMS have falsely stated on their business website and on social media that Ms McIver was the creator of Elixir Serum. YNNY says that this constituted (a) passing off, (b) unlawful interference with YNNY’s business and (c) malicious falsehood. YNNY also claims that marketing materials used by Ms McIver and then KMS to sell their serum contained copies of YNNY’s copyright works and that the copyrights have been infringed.
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