any description, statement or other indication, direct or indirect, as to—
(a)
the number or measurement of any goods; or
(b)
the standard of quality of any goods according to a classification
commonly used or recognized in the trade; or
(c)
the name of the assembler, manufacturer, producer or mixer of any
goods; or
(d)
the place or country in which any goods were assembled,
manufactured, produced or mixed; or
(e)
the fitness for purpose, strength, performance or behaviour of any
goods; or
(f)
the mode of assembling, manufacturing, producing or mixing of any
goods; or
(g)
the material of which any goods are composed; or
(h)
the fact of any goods being the subject of an existing patent, privilege
or copyright;
and the use of any figure, word or mark which, according to the customs of the trade,
is commonly taken to be an indication of any of the matters referred to in paragraphs
(a) to (h) shall be deemed to be a trade description for the purposes of this Act.
(3) Any reference in this Act to a false trade description shall be construed as a
reference to a trade description which is false in a material respect as regards the
goods to which it is applied and includes any alteration of a trade description, whether
by way of addition, effacement or otherwise, where that alteration makes the
description false or misleading in a material respect, and the fact that a trade
description is a trade mark or part of a trade mark shall not prevent such trade
description from being regarded as a false trade description for the purposes of this
Act.
(4) Any person who applies to goods any word, name, letter, figure or mark or any
arrangement or combination thereof, whether or not consisting of or including a trade
mark or part of a trade mark, which is likely to lead to the belief that the goods are the
manufacture or merchandise of some person other than the person whose manufacture
or merchandise they really are shall be deemed to apply a false trade description to
the goods.
PART II
MARKING OF GOODS AND PROHIBITIONS IN RELATION TO TRADE
DESCRIPTIONS
3
Prohibition of application of false trade description
(1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall apply any false trade description to
goods.
(2) It shall be a sufficient defence to any charge under subsection (1) if the accused
proves—
(a)
that he acted without intent to defraud; or
(b)
that—
(i)
in the ordinary course of his business he was employed on behalf of
other persons to apply trade descriptions to goods and that, in the case which is the
subject of the charge, he was so employed by some other person and was not
interested in the goods by way of profit or commission dependent on the sale of such
goods; and
(ii)
he took reasonable precautions against committing the offence
charged; and
(iii)
he had, at the time of the commission of the alleged offence, no
reason to suspect the genuineness of the trade description; and