Galway firm refused court order

A company selling free range eggs has been refused a permanent High Court injunction restraining a competitor from using allegedly similar packaging for its product.

Mr Justice Tony O‘Connor dismissed a claim, by Galway Free Range Eggs Ltd, who sell eggs under the ‘Galway Free Range Eggs’ brand, against rivals, Hillsbrook Eggs Ltd, and its directors, Kevin O’Brien and his daughter, Carmel O’Brien.

It was claimed the defendants passed off their product by offering goods for sale under the name ‘O’Brien’s of Galway Free Range Eggs.’

Galway Free Range Eggs Ltd, of Craigmore, Claregalway, brought a High Court action, seeking an order restraining the defendants from continuing to packaging their eggs under the name ‘O’Brien’s of Galway Free Range Eggs’.

The defendants had denied the claims. It was claimed that, from 2012 onwards, the defendants, of Barnaderg, Tuam, in Co Galway, had begun packing their own eggs and selling them as ‘O’Brien’s of Galway Free Range Eggs.’

The court did not detect any intention by the defendants to get the “free ride” that they were accused by Galway Free Range Eggs of seeking when designing and using the ‘O’Brien’s of Galway Free Range Eggs’ boxes.

The judge added Galway Free Range Eggs had failed to establish the defendants used the O’Brien name in a manner that did not accord with honest practices.