Merck KGaA v Merck & Co., Inc and others [2024] EWHC 820 (Ch)
Mr Justice Edwin Johnson ruled on allegations that Merck Sharpe & Dohme LLC had breached the terms of an Order obtained following a long-running contract and trade mark action brought by Merck KgaA against MSD over the latter’s use of the sign MERCK outside the USA and Canada. The UK action was part of multi-national litigation between the parties over the use of the name MERCK.
The Judgment holds that MSD was in breach on multiple, though not all, occasions. It clarifies the scope of the injunction in the Order. Outside the specific findings, it addresses the circumstances in which declaratory relief will be ordered, whether it is appropriate to give declarations of breach instead of, or as a prelude to, contempt proceedings, and when there is targeting of the use of a sign to the United Kingdom even where no goods or services under the sign are available for sale in the United Kingdom.
Benet Brandreth KC acted for the successful claimant, Merck KgaA.