UK Gymnastics Ltd v British Amateur Gymnastics Association: trademark win upheld, injunction trimmed
UK GymnasticsvBritish Amateur Gymnastics Association
- Court
- Court of Appeal
- Judgment
- 24 March 2021
- Citation
- [2021] EWCA Civ 425
Win your case on the merits, but make sure the court order only covers what you actually pleaded.
British Amateur Gymnastics Association sued UK Gymnastics Ltd over use of the name and logos "UK Gymnastics". The Court of Appeal backed British Gymnastics on trademark infringement and most of the passing off claim, but cut back one part of the injunction.
What happened
British Amateur Gymnastics Association, trading as British Gymnastics, took action against UK Gymnastics Ltd and related defendants for using the name and logos "UK Gymnastics". At trial, the judge found trademark infringement under two different legal tests, decided UK Gymnastics was not a genuine national governing body for the sport, and found passing off, which is when a business creates a false impression that misleads customers about a connection to another business, made out in three separate ways. UK Gymnastics appealed to the Court of Appeal, challenging the infringement findings, the confusion assessment and the passing off conclusions.
What did the court decide in UK Gymnastics v British Amateur Gymnastics Association?
The Court of Appeal dismissed most of the appeal. It upheld the finding that UK Gymnastics was not a national governing body, confirmed there was a likelihood of confusion between the signs even though there was little evidence of people actually being confused, and accepted that the judge was entitled to treat the word sign and the logo signs differently when assessing how similar they were to British Gymnastics' marks. However, the court allowed the appeal in part. British Gymnastics had pleaded that UK Gymnastics misrepresented that British Gymnastics had conferred national governing body status on it, but the judge's finding went wider, treating the misrepresentation as UK Gymnastics simply claiming to be a national governing body in general. The court set aside that finding and the related wording in the injunction, because it went beyond British Gymnastics' pleaded case and was unclear in scope.
What we learned from this
- What I'd take from this is that winning the substance of a case doesn't automatically mean every part of the remedy survives scrutiny. The court here backed the trademark and passing off findings but still cut back the injunction because part of it didn't match what had been pleaded.
- Draft your pleaded case carefully and keep the final order tied to it. Courts will enforce what was argued, not a broader version of it that emerges later.
- A business claiming official or governing body status for itself, or disputing someone else's claim to it, needs that specific claim pleaded clearly from the start.
- Evidence of actual customer confusion helps, but it isn't essential. Courts can find a likelihood of confusion exists even where real world examples are thin.
Things to be aware of
- The injunction wording on national governing body status was struck out for being unpleaded and unclear, not because the underlying claim lacked merit.
- The other two bases for the passing off finding, around commercial connection and damage to goodwill, were unaffected and still stand.
- This is a Court of Appeal decision reviewing a trial judge's factual findings, which appeal courts are generally reluctant to overturn.
The businesses involved
UK Gymnastics Ltd
Sued for using the name and logos "UK Gymnastics".
British Amateur Gymnastics Association
Trading as British Gymnastics, this is the national governing body for gymnastics in the UK. It's a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, incorporated in 1982, still active, and it holds 22 trademarks on the UK trademark register covering its British Gymnastics branding.
- Companies House
- 01630001 Active
- Incorporated
- April 1982
- Registered office
- Newport
- Business activity
- Activities of other membership organisations n.e.c.
- UK trademarks
- 22
What happened next
- Commentary noted the Court of Appeal's decision confirmed British Gymnastics' trademarks remained protected against the UK Gymnastics signs used in the dispute.Source: Cms, April 2021
What others said about it
- CITMA's review of the case describes confusion as 'a complex concept', reflecting how the multifactorial assessment weighed several strands of evidence rather than one simple test.Source: Citma, June 2021
- RPC summed up the result as British Gymnastics 'sticks landing on appeal, but wobbles' on the injunction, capturing the mixed nature of the outcome.Source: Rpclegal
- LawInSport's analysis points to conceptual similarity, the shared idea behind the signs, as the key factor behind British Gymnastics' trademark victory.Source: LawInSport, June 2021
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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: [2021] EWCA Civ 425 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.
