Dissecting SkyKick

In  Sky v SkyKick, the English High Court applied the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to find Sky's trademarks partially invalid in relation to certain goods and services as they had been applied for in bad faith. Nevertheless, the High Court held that parts of the trademarks remained valid and had been infringed by SkyKick.

Sky, the famous media and telecommunications corporation, issued trademark infringement proceedings in the High Court against SkyKick, a US software provider. Sky relied on a number of EU and UK national marks, all including the word "Sky" and all registered for a very large number of goods and services.

SkyKick filed a counterclaim for invalidity, submitting that: (i) the trademarks were registered for goods or services that are not specified with sufficient clarity and precision; and (ii) the trademarks were filed in bad faith, as Sky had no intention to offer some of the goods and services under the trademarks.

The High Court stayed the proceedings and referred five questions to the CJEU.

CJEU

The CJEU answered the referred questions as follows: