Norwich Pharmacal Co. v Customs and Excise Commissioners
Encyclopedia
Norwich Pharmacal Co.
& Others v Customs and Excise Commissioners [1974] AC 133 was a case involving the owner and exclusive licensee of a patent for an antibacterial called furazolidone
. Between 1960 and 1970 unlicensed shipments of the chemical were imported into Britain, but Norwich Pharmacal were unable to identify the importers. The Commissioners held information that would identify the importers, but would not disclose this, claiming that they had no authority to give such information.
held that where an innocent third party had information relating to unlawful conduct, a court could compel them to assist the person suffering damage by giving them that information. This is now known as a "Norwich Pharmacal order".
For this relief to be granted, the victim must demonstrate to the court:
Norwich Pharmaceuticals
Norwich Pharmaceuticals is a manufacturer, packager and distributor of prescription drugs and over-the-counter products. Laboratory support services include stability evaluation, microbiological testing, analytical testing and method development. The company was formed in 1887.- History :The...
& Others v Customs and Excise Commissioners [1974] AC 133 was a case involving the owner and exclusive licensee of a patent for an antibacterial called furazolidone
Furazolidone
Furazolidone is a nitrofuran antibacterial. It is marketed by Roberts Laboratories under the brand name Furoxone and by GlaxoSmithKline as Dependal-M.-Uses:It is used to treat diarrhoea and enteritis caused by bacteria or protozoan infections....
. Between 1960 and 1970 unlicensed shipments of the chemical were imported into Britain, but Norwich Pharmacal were unable to identify the importers. The Commissioners held information that would identify the importers, but would not disclose this, claiming that they had no authority to give such information.
Norwich Pharmacal order
The House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
held that where an innocent third party had information relating to unlawful conduct, a court could compel them to assist the person suffering damage by giving them that information. This is now known as a "Norwich Pharmacal order".
For this relief to be granted, the victim must demonstrate to the court:
- a reasonable basis to allege that a wrong has actually been committed
- the disclosure of documents or information from the third party is needed to enable action against the wrongdoer
- the respondent is not a "mere witness", but is sufficiently mixed up in the wrongdoing so as to have facilitated it, even if innocently, and therefore be in a position to provide the information
- the order is necessary in the interests of justice on the facts of the case.
Cases involving Norwich Pharmacal orders
- Totalise v Motley Fool MCLR March 2002, [2001] EWCA Civ 1897, [2002] 1 W.L.R. 1233, [2003] 2 All E.R. 872 - the court ordered a Norwich Pharmacal order against Motley FoolMotley FoolThe Motley Fool is a multimedia financial-services company that provides financial solutions for investors through various stock, investing, and personal finance products. The Alexandria, Virginia-based private company was founded in July 1993 by co-chairmen and brothers David and Tom Gardner, and...
in respect of data pertaining to their user Zeddust. This became an important precedent both for the issuing of such orders and for the treatment of costs relating to such proceedings. - Applause Store Productions & Firsht v Raphael [2008] EWHC 1781, [2008] All ER (D) 321 (Jul) - This involved the grant of a Norwich Pharmacal order against FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, ordering the disclosure of registration details, emailEmailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
addresses and the IP addressIP addressAn Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
es used by the respondent. - G & G v Wikimedia Foundation Inc [2009] EWHC 3148 (QB), [2009] All ER (D) 92 (Dec) - This involved the grant of an order to disclose the IP addresses used by a Wikipedia editor who had added information to a Wikipedia article which the claimant said infringed her and her child's privacy rights.
- Lockton Companies International & Others v Persons Unknown and Google Inc [2009] EWHC 3423 (QB) - This involved the request for an order against GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
to disclose subscriber details and IP addresses to identify the sender of anonymous defamatory emails.
External links
- Full transcript at BAILII