The Hotpicks dispute – amendments and issues of bad faith

Interlotto UK Ltd v Camelot Group plc, Chancery Division, 25 February 2004

The claimant applied for permission to amend its particulars of objection filed in support of its counterclaim in the second of two actions between the parties. Both the claimant and the first defendant ran lotteries to support charitable causes. The claimant ran draw lotteries in public houses under the name HOTSPOT, which it registered as a trade mark in 1996. The defendant launched a game in 2001 called lotto HOTPICKS. Numbers could be chosen at random in both games using HOTPICK in the claimant’s case and LUCKY DIP in the defendant’s.