Howes Percival successfully acted for APT (the Association for Psychological Therapies) Training and Consulting Ltd in its trade mark infringement and passing off claim against Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust.
The case was the first ever to be heard by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) outside of London.
Leicestershire-based training company, APT Training, brought the case against Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust for breach of trade mark over its use of the name ‘RAID’. Since 1990, APT Training has provided specialist training for mental health treatment under the acronym ‘RAID’, which stands for ‘Reinforce Appropriate (behaviour), Implode Disruptive (behaviour)’. RAID was registered as a trade mark in 1991. In 2009, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust adopted the name ‘RAID’ as an acronym for its specialist mental health service - ‘Rapid Assessment Interface and Discharge’.
The case was heard by Her Honour Judge Melissa Clarke. Hannah Steggles, intellectual property (IP) law expert from Howes Percival acted for APT Training. Barrister, Charlotte Blythe of Hogarth Chambers was instructed by Howes Percival to appear for APT Training at the IPEC.
Hannah Steggles, from Howes Percival, commented;
“Our client has been providing training courses in mental health under the ‘RAID’ mark for the past thirty years. The claim was for trade mark infringement and passing off by an NHS Trust, which was likely to lead to confusion within the professional mental health sector. It is a reminder of the importance of registered trade marks and I’m delighted for our client that the case was heard in their favour.”
Howes Percival’s IP team is ranked in the top tier by The Legal 500 - the authoritative guide to the UK’s leading law firms – and provides practical, commercial and cost-sensitive advice across a range of business sectors. The team handles an extensive caseload of litigation in the English High Court, the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court and the European Courts, as well as the UK and European intellectual property offices.
Expertise includes: Confidential information, copyright, design rights, domains, passing off, patents and trade marks.
