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The landmark ECJ decision L'Oréal v Bellure (C-487/07) was handed down on 18 June 2009. This decision has resulted in a critical addition to armoury of IP rights owners by creating a new type of 'unfair competition' law which will now automatically apply in the case of misuse of registered trade marks in the UK.

It is now the case that lookalike / copycat goods, which use similar signs to marks with a reputation to "ride on the coat-tails" of such marks, are now much more likely to be caught as infringing goods (there also being no need to prove confusion or damage). It is also clear that using such signs to market goods explicitly or implicitly as imitations or replicas will not be allowed.