Judge Roots for Levi in Reggae Reggae Sauce Court Battle
A Brixton café owner recently lost his fight to be recognised as the creator of the recipe for the well known “Reggae Reggae” sauce made famous by Levi Roots on the TV show Dragon’s Den.
Anthony Bailey claimed that Mr Roots had derived the sauce from his ‘unique and secret recipe’ in 1984 when the pair worked together at the Notting Hill carnival. He claimed that the pair had previously agreed to exploit the commercial opportunities surrounding the marketing and sale of the sauce and to share profits equally. Mr Bailey also claimed that he had demonstrated to Mr Roots how the sauce was prepared and what ingredients were to be used.
Bailey maintained that Mr Roots had breached their agreement by exploiting the sauce on Dragon’s Den for his own gain. He also argued that the circumstances in which he conveyed the recipe to Roots created a duty of confidence which had also been breached by Roots. Neither of these arguments found favour with the Judge, who dismissed Bailey’s case. The Judge doubted whether Bailey would have disclosed such a closely guarded secret to Roots as he had claimed. Furthermore, the recipe was not sufficiently certain to have acquired the necessary quality of confidence. The ingredients used were standard therefore the only confidence which could exist and therefore be breached, related to the quantities used or the methodology of its preparation. However, the Judge held that the recipe was not sufficiently well developed to be capable of amounting to confidential information.
This case serves as a reminder to put down in writing any agreement reached in relation to a business venture, even when that agreement is reached fairly informally with a friend. Equally it reminds employers to ensure that employees understand what amounts to confidential information where there is a likelihood that they may come across such information in the course of their employment, particularly where the employer wants to assert an on going duty not to divulge such information after their employment has ended. To assist an employer in this situation, the precise nature and scope of confidential information should clearly be set out in contractual documentation and the employer should be able to demonstrate that it has taken the necessary steps to maintain the quality of confidence in any such information.
