Statutes
| Published date | 01 November 1968 |
| Date | 01 November 1968 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1968.tb01217.x |
STATUTES
TRADE DE~CRIPTIONS ACT
1968
THIS Act repeals and consolidates the Merchandise Marks Acts
1887-
1953
and
at
the same time makes many important changes in the
law. Some of these are based
on
the recommendations of the Molony
Committee,’ but in several important respects the Act
goes
beyond
those recommendations.
Section
1
restates the principal offences-those
of,
in the course
of a trade
or
business,’ (a) applying a false trade description to goods
and (b) supplying
or
offering to supply goods to which a false trade
description has been applied. The separate offence of forging a trade
mark is not re-enacted, but in most other respects the Act extends
the scope of the criminal law as to trade descriptions and similar
statements. The most important changes are as follows.
(1)
The definition of
“
trade description
”
is
very considerably
extended.
It
occupies ten paragraphs in section
2
(I),
the fifth
of which reads:
‘‘
any physical characteristics not included in the
preceding paragraphs.” This
is
followed by. two subsections of
explanation and two of qualification; and in case anything has been
left out it
is
further provided that
“
Anything
. .
.
likely to be taken
for an indication
”
of any of the matters specified in the principal
definition which,
‘‘
as such an indication, would be false
.
.
.
shall be
deemed to be
a
false trade description.” Statements which fall out-
side these provisions may still be caught under later sections
a
or
other Acts.’ But there is no liability under these provisions for
statements which are clearly statements of opinion
or
trade puffs.
(2)
By section
4
(2)
“An
oral statement may amount to the
use of a trade description.”
It
remains to be seen whether the
anticipated difficulties of enforcing this provision (which led the
Molony Committee to favour retention of the contrary rule)
*
will
materialise.
(8)
The Act makes new provision for the application of the law
as to false trade descriptions to statements
in
advertisements. By
section
5,
any person who publishes an advertisement containing
a
false trade description
in
relation to
“
any class of goods
”
may be
1
In
Part
V
of
its
Find
Report, Cmnd. 1781
(’l962).
2
Thus
private sales
are
exempt. Editorial
comment
is
aleo
exempt
by
8.
39
(2).
3
Defined,
to
avoid
8
well-known trap,
to
include exposing and ’having in
possession
for
sup
ly:
8.
6.
4
Bee Merchandise barks Act 1887,
s.
1
(1).
5
In
8.
3 (3).
6
e.g.,
88.
11,
12 and 13.
7
e.g.,
those
referred to in
8.
2
(4)
and (6)
and
the Weights
and
Measures Act
8
Cmnd.
1781, paras. 668-660;
cf.
H.L.Deb.,
Vol.
286,
col.
644.
1963.
662
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