Are trade marks comparatively useless?

If the European Court of Justice follows the Advocate General in the O2 v H3G reference, businesses in the UK will not only be powerless to sue for breach of the Comparative Advertising Directive (only public bodies have rights of action) but they will also be unable to sue for infringement of their Intellectual Property (IP) rights - or recover damages - in comparative advertisements. The only cause of action available will be to persuade the public bodies to take action under the Comparative Advertising Directives. Is it now open season in the field of comparative advertising in the UK?

Experts in the IP team have put together an analysis of this issue.