Moambique Rule

A legal principle established by the UK House of Lords in the 1893 case British South Africa Co v Cia de Moambique to the effect that a UK court has no jurisdiction to entertain an action in respect of the title or possession of any immovable assets located outside the UK or to award damages for trespass on such an asset. The rule was extended to encompass the idea that a UK court had no authority to hear infringement cases regarding UK intellectual property rights not subsisting in the UK. For a brief period this rule was partially reversed by the UK courts in application of the Brussels convention to intellectual property in other EU member states, but this position was then effectively reversed by a decision of the European Court of Justice in 2006.

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