Landmark Court Decision in Favour of the Juice Corporation

07 Apr 2006

Thursday, 30th March 2006 (Luxembourg). The European Court of Justice today gave judgment in the Elizabeth Emanuel trademark case. The Court ruled that the Juice Corporation validly holds the Elizabeth Emanuel trademark, which may therefore be used for its fashion collection as well as the planned range of lifestyle merchandise.

The decision in favour of Manchester-based fashion house, the Juice Corporation, follows six years of litigation over the 'Elizabeth Emanuel' trademark – famous for its involvement in the creation of the late Princess of Wales' wedding dress. Elizabeth Emanuel sold all assets of the 'Elizabeth Emanuel' business including its goodwill and trademark to the Juice Corporation. She later claimed that the trademark sold could not be used by the Juice Corporation because the public associated it with her personally. Today's judgment establishes that her claim was wrong in law and paves the way for the Elizabeth Emanuel trademark to be used exclusively by the Juice Corporation.

This judgment means that businesses worldwide will breathe a sigh of relief, given its potential to impact any company buying or selling a business trading under the name of an individual. Had the Court decided in Mrs. Emanuel's favour, it would effectively have blocked the sale of such businesses because use of the individual's name as a trademark could never have been transferred. This would have had major implications, not just for the fashion industry but for any European commercial enterprise.

Speaking today, Juice Corporation's Managing Director, Kashif Ahmed said: "We have remained confident of our legal position since the start of this litigation and are delighted with the judgment not only for the fashion industry but any company internationally involved in the sale or purchase of businesses with trademarks in the form of the name of an individual".

As previously quoted, Mr Ahmed's focus is to build on the success of the brand. Juice Corporation remains excited about the opportunity to take their plans forward and have had further interest from retailers and licensees in the development of a widely accessible range. Juice is confident that the Elizabeth Emanuel range will become extremely popular with consumers in both the UK and internationally.