The Court of Appeal also considered the question of targeting in Merck KgaA (Merck Global) v Merck Sharp & Dohme (Merck US) in a dispute concerning a claim for breach of contract and trade mark infringement relating to online use by Merck US of the word MERCK. The Court decided that the use either as a trade mark or company name was in breach of a 1970 Agreement between the two parties, which provided that Merck US should not use MERCK outside of the US.
On the issue of targeting consumers in the UK, the Court noted that Merck US's web presence was an integrated group of websites which were accessible by and directed at users in the UK and other countries. The architecture of the sites was also such that users accessing the 'msd-uk' site were directed to the 'merck.com site'. Visitor numbers were also material – the sites were not visited by 'strays', but by non-US residents in search of information and who had been directed or drawn to the merck.com site.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
