Extreme Networks Limited v Extreme E Limited: Court of Appeal restores trademark opposition win
Extreme NetworksvExtreme E
- Court
- Court of Appeal
- Judgment
- 14 November 2024
- Citation
- [2024] EWCA Civ 1386
An appeal court will rarely overturn a hearing officer's judgment call on how similar two services are.
Extreme Networks opposed Extreme E's trademark application, arguing it was too close to its own earlier mark covering seat booking for shows. The Court of Appeal sided with Extreme Networks, restoring the opposition.
What happened
Extreme E applied to register a device mark for a range of services, including organising cultural events, motor vehicle races and award ceremonies. Extreme Networks opposed the application under section 5(2)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, relying on its own earlier mark, which covers booking of seats for shows. A trademark hearing officer agreed with Extreme Networks, finding several of Extreme E's services similar enough to seat booking to uphold the opposition. Extreme E appealed to the High Court, which overturned that finding and said the services were not similar after all. Extreme Networks then took the case to the Court of Appeal.
What did the court decide in Extreme Networks v Extreme E?
The Court of Appeal allowed Extreme Networks' appeal and restored the hearing officer's original decision. It held the High Court was wrong to interfere with the hearing officer's assessment, which involved weighing several factors together rather than applying a strict legal test. The Court found no error of principle in treating organising events and booking seats for them as complementary services that share overlapping users, even where ticket booking was only incidental to Extreme E's main business. It also accepted that motorsport and other sporting events can count as "shows" with bookable seats, so the comparison with Extreme Networks' earlier mark was a fair one.
What we learned from this
- What I'd take from this is that once a trademark hearing officer has weighed up how similar two services are, that finding usually sticks. It takes a clear error of principle to overturn it, not just a different view of the facts.
- Don't assume a service is too minor to count. Extreme E's ticket booking being incidental to its main motorsport business didn't stop it being compared to a rival's core service.
Things to be aware of
- Similarity findings like this one are fact-specific. A different set of services or a different hearing officer's reasoning could lead to a different outcome.
The businesses involved
Extreme Networks Limited
UK-registered company (no. 03562521), incorporated in 1998 and based in Suffolk, still active. Part of the Extreme Networks group, which supplies computer networking products and holds 17 trademarks on the UK trademark register.
- Companies House
- 03562521 Active
- Incorporated
- May 1998
- Registered office
- Suffolk
- Business activity
- Other business support service activities n.e.c.
- UK trademarks
- 17
Extreme E Limited
Organiser of the Extreme E motorsport championship, which applied to register a device mark covering event organisation, award ceremonies and related services.
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This page is for information purposes only and does not constitute trademark advice or guidance. Summary drafted with AI assistance from the published judgment and checked by The Trademark Helpline (how we write these). Judgment: [2024] EWCA Civ 1386 on Find Case Law, published under the Open Justice Licence. Company details from Companies House; trademark counts from the UK trademark register. Last reviewed 26 October 2026. Report an error.
