No rights, no case: What you can learn from the Notting Hill Bag Co trade mark dispute

A recent High Court decision, Courtenay-Smith & Ors v The Notting Hill Shopping Bag Company Ltd & Ors [2025], has served as a stark reminder that even established brands can lose valuable intellectual property rights if they are not carefully managed.

The dispute concerned the “Notting Hill Shopping Bag”, a tote bag design once familiar to shoppers around London’s Portobello Market. The company now trading as “Notting Hill Bag Co” believed it still owned trade mark rights to the name and design and sought to enforce those rights against other sellers.

The court found otherwise, ruling that the company no longer held any enforceable trade mark rights. To understand how this happened, it is helpful to look at the history of the trade mark themselves.

How the trade mark was lost

In 2013, The Notting Hill Shopping Bag Company Limited secured two UK trade marks for its popular tote bags. The first was a word mark for the name “NOTTING HILL SHOPPING BAG”. The second was a device mark, consisting of a stylised logo incorporating the same words. These trade mark registrations gave the company the exclusive right to use the brand name and logo in connection with certain goods, including bags, and formed the legal foundation of its brand protection strategy.

In 2018, that company was dissolved. Under UK law, when a company is dissolved, all of its property automatically passes to the Crown. This includes intellectual property such as trade marks. The legal term for this is bona vacantia, meaning “ownerless goods”.

A renewal that never counted

In March 2023, a company called NHBCL, linked to the original business, tried to renew the trade mark. But NHBCL was not the owner of the trade mark, at that point the Crown was and so the renewal had no legal effect and the trade mark subsequently expired.

When the original company was restored, the six-month grace period for late trade mark renewals had already passed. The expiry was final and the trade mark could not be brought back.

No rights, no case

As a result, the company’s claim for trade mark infringement was dismissed. The judge found that without a valid registered mark, there was no right to enforce. A claim for passing off also failed. Any goodwill the business had in the tote bag design ended when the company was dissolved in 2018.

What lessons can businesses learn from this case?

This case shows that trade marks require active management. Dissolving a company without transferring its trade marks to another active entity risks losing them altogether. Missing a renewal deadline, even unintentionally, can end your rights.

It also underlines the importance of clear ownership records. Only the registered proprietor or an authorised representative can renew or enforce a trade mark. Good intentions are not enough, without proper authority, any renewal will be invalid.

The safest approach is to keep accurate records of every trade mark you own, including renewal dates and ownership details. Assign responsibility for monitoring renewals and ensure the legal owner is the one to act. If dissolving a company, transfer trade marks to another live entity before the dissolution takes place.

The Notting Hill Bag Co decision is a timely reminder that even popular, recognisable brands can lose their protection overnight. Once a trade mark expires, it is usually gone for good.

Ben Evans, Head of Trade Marks at Harper James comments:

“Trade marks are valuable business assets, but only if they are maintained. This case shows how even a strong, recognisable brand can lose its protection overnight if renewals and ownership records are not closely monitored. Once a trade mark expires, it is usually gone for good, no matter how unfair that might seem.”