The High Court upheld an infringement decision last week (the original case [2021] EWHC 1212 (Ch) came before Mr Justice Marcus Smith in February 2021) that affirms the need for all business valuers to fully analyse ownership rights of any IP assets as part of their work. In this case, the UK licensors, registered sublicensors, and apparently off-brand abusers were all named as defendants, and the Chancery Division had to sort out the chain of liability. In the end, both the original decision and this recently argued new appeal determined that, since the direct owner of the trademark license had not infringed, none of the other defendants were liable. Some legal analysts say that the decision makes it harder for owners to enforce their rights, as well as the value, of their trademarks.