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GAZETTE
B O O K
R E V I E W S
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1995
The Law of Passing-Off
By Christopher Wadlow. Published
by Sweet & Maxwell, London.
Second Edition; 1994; 625pp;
hardback; £98.00 stg.
This is the second edition of
Christopher Wa d l ow 's book, which
when first published in 1 9 90 was an
extremely welcome arrival since it is,
if not the only, then one of the very
few texts devoted entirely to the tort
of passing-off. The cover o f this new
edition is somewhat intimidating in its
black and green severity but this
belies the content which is well laid
out, clear and easy to find on e 's way
around. There is a useful "plan o f the
b o o k" section which explains Mr.
Wa d l ow 's lay-out o f the text and
indeed if only those four pages were
read, one would have gathered the
essence of passing-off.
The book is unusual for an English
text in that it cites cases from most of
the c ommon law jurisdictions of the
world. Since the tort of passing-off is
an ever growing one and the Courts in
Ireland have always been open-
minded in accepting case law from
other c ommon law jurisdictions as
persuasive precedent, Mr. Wa d l ow 's
book as a work of reference for
Ireland, even though not specifically
designed for us is extremely useful in
that regard.
The introduction deals with the
essential elements o f the tort, then
charts the history and growth o f the
tort from the early eighteenth century
and compares passing-off with the
concept o f unfair competition. The
next sections deal in detail with the
bones of the tort, goodwill, damage
and misrepresentation. There is a
section on distinctiveness and get-up
and a useful section on character
merchandising. Finally defences to the
tort o f passing-off and remedies for
enforcement are explained. The text is
straight forward, clear and succinct to
read and the chapters are laid out in
sections which are easy to cope with. I
was unable to dream up a set o f facts
the answer to which was not contained
and easily found among the pages of
this book.
On the negative side, the table of
cases is not without its faults. On a
trawl through, initially for mention of
Irish cases, I checked paragraph 2 . 19
for a reference to
An Bord Trachtala -
v-
Waterford Foods,
reported at
[ 1 9 9 4 ], Fleet Street Reports. However
no mention is made at all in paragraph
2 . 19 of the case. Thus riled, I
abandoned my search just for mention
o f Irish cases and unfortunately found
a number o f other such editing errors.
Ciba-Geigy Pic.
-v-
Park Davis & Co.
Limited
[ 1 9 9 4] F S R 8 is nowhere to be
found at Paragraph 4 . 1 3, but in the
paragraph above, at 4 . 1 2.
United
Biscuits (U.K.) Limited
-v-
Burton
Biscuits Limited
[1992 SFR14] is not
in fact the case mentioned at
paragraph 6 . 6 0 in spite o f what the
table of cases says. Rather it is
United
Biscuits
-v-
Irish Biscuits
[1971] I.R.
16 which is cited at paragraph 6 . 60
where College Creams and Cottage
Creams were held not to pass-off one
another in appearance, size or texture
since their outer packaging was
distinctive. This case however
receives no mention at all in the table
o f cases. Such errors are regrettable in
a tome costing S T G £ 9 8, and although
these are presumably not Mr
Wa d l ow 's mistake, perhaps he will
consider challenging his editor prior
to commencing work upon the third
edition to check it more carefully.
Since the tort of passing-off has no
statutory basis at all, per force, Mr.
Wa d l ow 's text leads the reader from
case to case and the only real criticism
I would have, is that his text is a little
light on comment about the cases and
he rarely gives his view as to how he
believes matters should evolve. This
judgment is, however, perhaps a little
harsh since the book is, because of
this, an extremely useful one for the
practitioner and one which, overall, I
highly recommend as an addition to
any solicitor's practice.
Carol Plunkett.
Case Law of the European
Court of Human Rights,
Volume III, 1991 - 1993
By Vincent Berger, Dublin, The
Roundhall Press, xvi + 454 pp;
IR£47.50; hardback.
The Chinese philosopher Confucius,
(551 - 4 7 9 B C ) in the Li Chi wrote of
the Great Commonwealth where all
men are brothers. He wrote that
within this Great Commonwealth,
virtuous and able men are elected to
office, mutual confidence is
demonstrated and peace obtained.
In this land, people would
regard other people's parents,
families and states as their own; the
old could enjoy their old age, the
young were free to grow and
employ their talents, the helpless,
widows and widowers, the lonely, the
orphaned, the crippled and the
deformed would all be provided for.
Confucius continued that labour was
not to be used for selfish purposes;
persons content at work would not be
involved in banditry or rebellion and
as a result "even outer gates need not
be closed". This was to be "the state
o f Great Unity".
Confucius was writing about human
rights and although the perfect
Commonwealth has not c ome about,
Mr. Justice Brian Walsh in his
preface to Dr. B e r g e r 's book notes
that it is evident in the years
under review that the European
Court o f Human Rights has earned
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