Contempt of court
Bargain Busting Ltd v Shenzhen SKE Technology Company Ltd and others [2026] EWHC 1146 (Ch)
The Chancery Division dismissed the claimant’s application for permission to appeal against the judgment handed down on 23 April 2026 in which the court struck out the claimant’s contempt application. The claimant had brought contempt proceedings in August 2025 against the defendants, alleging that solicitors had knowingly interfered with the administration of justice by writing to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) requesting delay in registering a trade mark pending an application for permission to appeal. The court had previously found no real prospect of establishing contempt, concluding that the solicitors’ conduct in asking the IPO to implement its own guidance did not amount to criminal contempt. On consequential matters, the court ordered the claimant to pay the defendants’ costs on the indemnity basis, finding, among other things, that the claimant had improperly weaponised the contempt jurisdiction to pursue private interests, had threatened to report the defendants to the Solicitors Regulation Authority unless they agreed to the claimant’s terms, and had used criminal contempt proceedings
