esure Insurance Ltd v Direct Line Insurance plc [2008] EWCA Civ 842, [2008] All ER (D) 313 (Jul)
In assessing the likelihood of trademark confusion, this must be ascertained from the viewpoint of the average consumer, and a global assessment must be made of all the relevant factors (which involves examining all the aural, visual and conceptual similarities of the marks and assessing the weight to be given to each of the relevant characteristics).
Given that the critical issue of confusion of any kind is to be assessed from the viewpoint of the average consumer, an expert’s report is of little value in evaluating the likelihood of confusion (although there may be a role for an expert where the markets in question are ones with which judges are unfamiliar).
