Actions in passing off have traditionally concerned the use by the defendant of the name, mark or 'get-up' used by the claimant to denote a product or business. Over time, however, the cause of action has been extended to include the use by a defendant of other branding or marketing techniques of the claimant, such as slogans or visual images from advertisements.

Passing off does not give the owner of the goodwill a monopoly in the mark or get-up; it protects the trader’s business against what might in broad terms be called a certain type of "unfair competition". There is no statutory cause of action for passing off; in other words, it has developed through case law and therefore is not a simple matter.

We have successfully acted in cases for passing off and will be pleased to discuss this area of law with you.