Court of Appeal Limits Licensee Damages in Trade Mark Case

A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that trade mark proprietors cannot recover losses suffered by their licensees or sub-licensees in infringement proceedings unless the relevant licences have been registered at the UK Intellectual Property Office. The decision arose from a long-running dispute in which Lifestyle Equities, owner of the Beverly Hills Polo Club marks, sought to include such losses in a damages inquiry against Frasers Group following an earlier finding of infringement. The court held that the statutory mechanism for taking account of licensee losses forms part of a scheme of protections available only to registered licensees. Claims relating to unregistered sub-licences were therefore dismissed as statute-barred. The judgment emphasises the strict preconditions for accessing these remedies and rejects arguments that late registration could revive out-of-time claims.

Small-business owners should register all trade mark licences promptly to preserve the ability to recover full losses in any future infringement action.

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**Sources**

- <https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2026/583.html> - <https://gowlingwlg.com/en/insights-resources/articles/2026/court-of-appeal-tightens-route-to-recovering-licensee-losses-in-trade-mark-cases-lifestyle-equities> - <https://www.shoosmiths.com/perspectives/stories/articles/avoiding-the-black-hole-court-of-appeal-considers-registration-of-trade-mark-licences> - <https://www.cityam.com/mike-ashley-wins-trademark-appeal-throwing-out-eye-watering-damages-bill/>