John-Paul Tettmar-Saleh

Intellectual Property, Media and Defamation

Sheroze Nadeem v Wasime Patel, Mubarack Issa, Centurion Traders Limited and Hana Design Limited (IP 2023 000017)
John-Paul acted for each of the four Defendants in this trade mark and passing off claim. It concerned the use of the sign “V2” in relation to clothing. The Claimant’s passing off case was curious in that he claimed to own goodwill which allegedly subsisted in a similar sign in the 1990s and early 2000s and which was allegedly owned by a limited company which was wound up in 2006. John-Paul drafted the Defence and Counterclaim for revocation of the trade mark. He advised on and drafted a successful application on the papers to transfer up from the IPEC small claims track to the IPEC multi track. John-Paul then appeared as sole counsel before HHJ Hacon for the hearing of the Defendants’ applications to strike out the claims and for summary judgment on the Counterclaim. John-Paul secured summary judgment on the Counterclaim (including an order that the Claimant’s registered trade mark be revoked), and successfully had struck out the passing off claim. John-Paul then secured a generous costs order from the Court (c.95% of costs recoverable under the caps).

WKA Worldwide K. Actionsports GmBH and Klaus Nonnemacher v Paul Ingram
The Claimants had obtained costs orders in Germany arising from trade mark litigation in the German courts and EU IPO. John-Paul appeared for the Defendant in the English Courts and was successful in obtaining a stay of execution on the basis of cross claims in Germany.

IPO Opposition O/0041/23 – EPIC RIDER and EPIC EQUESTRIAN
John-Paul drafted the written submissions for the successful Defendant in opposition proceedings, based on 5(1), (2) and (3) of the Trade Marks Act 1994.

Advisory
In addition to advocacy, John-Paul has advised and guided several clients to favourable outcomes in bringing and defending claims in defamation, breach of confidence and misuse of private information, as well as in managing their intellectual property rights in commercial transactions.

Consumer and Contract

Mark Davies v Saxton 4×4
John-Paul represented a car dealership in a one-day trial of a claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and in misrepresentation. John-Paul’s opening questions in cross examination returned answers which he then used to lead the court to dismiss the claim.

Mark Enright The Landscape Gardener Company Limited v Iain Roache
In his first week as a third-six pupil, John-Paul appeared for the successful Defendant in a small claims trial at the Central London County Court. His client was defending a debt claim form his former gardener. John-Paul had the claim struck out.

Construction

Collins (Contractors) Ltd v Evergreen Marine (UK) Ltd HT-2022-000376
John-Paul advised and drafted pleadings and summary judgment application on behalf of the Claimant in this adjudication enforcement claim, worth circa £350,000. The parties settled in the days leading up to the hearing.

Insolvency

Symark Building Contractors Romsey Ltd (in Liquidation) v Trevor Holmes and Ors CR-2022-002116
John-Paul advised, drafted papers and appeared on behalf of the applicant liquidators in this claim for preference, transactions at an undervalue and misfeasance against company directors. John-Paul secured debarring orders and costs orders against the defendants and the parties settled the claim on the eve of the liquidator’s application for summary judgment.

Property

Various Claimants v Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing
John-Paul represented the Defendant in multiple injunction hearings concerning faulty heating in a block of flats. Although technically on notice, the various claimants had either failed to serve the papers or had served them on the Defendant just one day prior to the hearing. John-Paul attended the hearing and had the first two dismissed with costs, whereupon it transpired that other similar hearings were listed. The remainder were dismissed by consent, with costs.

Rachel Thompkins v E.M. Freehold LON/00AN/LSC/2022/0209
John-Paul represented the successful defendants in the Property Tribunal (First Tier) in this section 27 reasonableness challenge. The Tribunal dismissed the challenge in its entirety. The Tribunal remarked in its judgment,

“The Applicant’s statement of case is at 1/34-41 and the Respondents’ is at 1/49-74. The Applicant replied at 1/92-101. These are detailed submissions. On the face of it they present a set of issues incapable of determination by a day’s sitting. But we considered Mr Tettmar-Saleh’s skeleton argument provided, with the Scott Schedule completed by parties, a route through what might have appeared an insuperable set of issues. In particular we decided to follow the scheme set out in paragraph 10 of his skeleton argument…”

Selected Cases from Pupillage

Kelly-Marie Smith v Kesi Dryden & Ors [2021] EWHC 2277 (IPEC)
John-Paul assisted the Claimant in the PTR and trial of their copyright action, particularly with respect of the expert musicologist evidence.

Gentil Sayre Ltd v Supplies for Candles Ltd
John-Paul assisted the Defendant in successfully resisting an application for contempt and committal, following a compromised High Court trade mark infringement action.

Claire Stone v Alexandra Wenman [2021] EWHC 2546 (IPEC)
John-Paul assisted in the settling of evidence for the ultimately successful Defendant in this trade mark action.

Facebook Ireland Limited v Voxer IP LLC [2021] EWHC 1377 (Pat)
John-Paul assisted the Defendants in the trial of their patent’s validity and infringement, in relation to Facebook’s instant messaging service.

Original Beauty Technology & ors v Oh Polly & ors [2021] EWHC 294 (Ch)
John-Paul assisted in the Defendants’ case from trial through to the damages inquiry. The Defendants successfully resisted the Claimants’ passing off claim and a number of design right claims.

• BA in International Relations, Queen Mary, University of London (First Class, second in year group)
• MA in History of Political Thought and Intellectual History (Distinction)
• GDL, University of Law, London
• BPTC with LLM in Legal Practice, University of Law, London (Distinction)

• Princess Royal Scholarship (Inner Temple)
• Major Exhibition Scholarship (Inner Temple)
• GDL award (University of Law)
• BPTC award (University of Law)
• Best Dissertation Award, for paper graded 93% (Queen Mary, University of London)
• Draper’s Company Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement (Queen Mary, University of London)
• Exemplary Essay (Queen Mary, University of London)
• Sir Henry Brooke Essay Prize (Society for Computers and Law)

• John-Paul is a Senior Writer at IP Harbour, where he has contributed many articles on IP and technology matters.
• Do social network providers require (further) regulation?, Society for Computers and Law, published July 2019.

Playing the guitar, rock climbing, mountaineering.