Tote Bags at Dawn: Bona vacantia, trade marks and copyright

A very IPEC decision (i.e. remarkably complex, colourful, and fairly low value) was handed down last week in Courtnay-Smith & Anor v The Notting Hill Shopping Bag Company Ltd & Ors [2025] EWHC 1793 (IPEC). It concerns tote bags and the Portobello Road market. It carries some interesting points, relevant to corporate restructures, about what happens when trade marks are owned by