Maker of VODKAT fails to convince Court of Appeal that extended passing off is now too broad

The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court judgment that Intercontinental Brands (ICB) passed off its VODKAT product as vodka and this caused, or was likely to cause, damage to Diageo, manufacturer of the SMIRNOFF brand of vodka.

This judgment confirms the apparently broad scope of "extended passing off" to cover classes of products that cannot be defined by their geographical location, cachet or reputation as a luxury product. Our expert has produced a detailed analysis of this development in the law of passing off.