Introduction

Could I be personally liable for the wrongdoing of my company?’ is a question which all directors have no doubt contemplated at one time or another.  

This question was at the heart of the Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Lifestyle Equities v Ahmed [2024] UKSC 17, in which the Supreme Court considered the circumstances in which a director could be found liable as an accessory for a strict liability tort, such as trade mark infringement, that has been committed by their company.

In this briefing, we take a closer look at what the Lifestyle Equities case was about and discuss the key takeaways from the Supreme Court’s conclusions. 

TRADE MARK INFRINGEMENT AND STRICT LIABILITY

UK trade mark infringement is an example of a ‘strict liability’ tort. Strict liability torts do not require the person committing the tort to have had any particular state of mind to be found liable. Trade mark infringement can be committed even though the defendant was not at fault and is unaware that their actions constitute trade mark infringement, provided those actions: (i) fall within the scope of the infringing acts listed in the Trade Marks Act 1994; and (ii) were carried out without the trade mark owner’s consent.


This article was written by David Ives, Ollie Cantrill and Richard Barker. David is a Partner, Ollie is an Associate and Rick is a Senior PSL in Slaughter and May’s Technology, Digital, Data and IP team.