March 4, 2021
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Bentley Motors, a luxury car manufacturer, has been ordered to destroy clothing featuring the name “Bentley” after losing an appeal against a 2019 United Kingdom High Court ruling.
As reported by BBC News, the underlying dispute between Bentley Motors and Bentley Clothing, a Manchester-based clothing retailer founded in 1962, began in 1998 when Bentley Motors began using its logo on clothing attire.
Since 1998, Bentley Clothing and Bentley Motors had been engaged in negotiations over the “Bentley” mark, until negotiations turned sour in 2017 and the High Court action was launched. Bentley Motors then began its attempt to cancel the clothing retailer’s trademark, despite the retailer holding the rights to the “Bentley” mark in the UK since 1982.
In 2019, the High Court held that Bentley Motors had infringed the trademark of Bentley Clothing, and further held that Bentley Motors could no longer use the name “Bentley”, either on its own or in conjunction with its distinctive logo, on clothing. Bentley Motors appealed the decision, however, the Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the ruling, holding that there was “no basis” to overturn the lower court decision.
Authors: Nargis Fazli and Mark Leonard