The ‘Piddle Patch’ was a hit when Rebecca Sloan, 39, appeared on Dragons’ Den back in 2022 – but she is now locked in a legal battle with a rival dog toilet maker
A woman who appeared on Dragons’ Den after inventing an indoor dog toilet is locked in a bitter trademark battle with a rival “piddle patch” maker.
Rebecca Sloan, 39, appeared on the show in 2022, having first trademarked her product – which uses real turf in a biodegradable litter tray for housetraining dogs – in 2016. The idea was a hit, securing offers from four dragons, with Ms Sloan eventually plumping for Steven Bartlett’s £50,000 offer for a 20% stake in her company. But Ms Sloan – through her company Makeality Ltd – is now locked in a High Court trade mark fight with rival, Laurencia Walker-Fooks, 34, and her company City Doggo Ltd.
Ms Sloan says Ms Walker-Fooks has infringed her trade mark by selling her own similar product – a “real grass” litter tray – under the name ‘Oui Oui Patch’ since November 2020.
Her company is now suing for damages for trade mark infringement and “passing off,” as well as an injunction to prevent City Doggo doing so in future. Ms Walker-Fooks is fighting the case, denying any trade mark infringement. She says she came up with her “real grass” indoor dog toilet – known as ‘Oui Oui Patch’ – after experiencing the “stress and anxiety” of housetraining her dog, Tinkerbell.The dog-loving pair are set to go head-to-head in the High Court over their products, with preliminary disputes over the case already reaching the Court of Appeal. Setting out the dispute in a ruling on the case, Lord Justice Arnold said Ms Sloan’s company had registered its trade mark in 2016, describing it as a “pet litter box tray containing real turf” and “turf grass for use as pet litter and sold in a biodegradable box tray.” “The claimant has marketed what is said to be an innovative product consisting of a patch of grass in a biodegradable box for toilet training pets under the trade mark since September 2016, and claims to have generated substantial goodwill in connection with the trade mark,” he said.
“Among other matters, the claimant relies upon the fact that its director Rebecca Sloan appeared on the well-known BBC television show Dragons’ Den in January 2022 with a view to obtaining investment in the claimant’s business – and was successful in getting offers of investment.”
But he said she ran into problems, complaining about Ms Walker-Fooks’ City Doggo company selling their ‘Oui Oui Patch’ in November 2020.
“The claimant contends that City Doggo’s use of the sign ‘Oui, Oui Patch’ infringes the trade mark…and amounts to passing off, and that Ms Walker-Fooks is jointly liable,” he said.
“The claimant also complains that City Doggo has used the sign ‘piddlepatch’, ‘Piddle Patch’ (and) ‘PiddlePatch’ in various ways.
“The claimant contends that such use infringes the trade mark…and amounts to passing off and that Ms Walker-Fooks is jointly liable. “The defendants admit certain uses of this sign, which they contend were de minimis, but say that City Doggo stopped when the claimant complained.
“The defendants deny infringement of the trade mark or passing off by City Doggo, and deny that Ms Walker-Fooks is jointly liable for any infringement or passing off.”
The case reached the Court of Appeal after a decision in the intellectual property division of the High Court by Judge Richard Hacon to transfer the case to the “small claims” category. The judge said Ms Sloan’s company had not put forward sufficient evidence to show that the case is worth more than £10,000 to them, or that it is a complex case. Her company appealed, arguing that the case should not have been categorised as “small claims,” which limits the amounts in damages and lawyers’ costs which might be recoverable. But Lord Justice Arnold, sitting with Lord Justice Holroyde and Lord Justice Dingemans, rejected the appeal, meaning that the case will proceed as a “small claims” dispute in the High Court.