Pharmacy2U has failed in a legal bid to obtain the contact details of every NPA member after a High Court ruling last week.   

The online pharmacy had alleged that an information leaflet and poster sent out by the NPA to its members in December 2017 had damaged the company’s reputation.

Pharmacy2U had initially threatened to sue the NPA for defamation, malicious falsehood and trademark infringement arising from the content of the materials. It demanded the NPA disclose the names and contact details of every member who had received the information and also sought a retraction and public apology. 

The company was subsequently obliged to withdraw its allegations of defamation and malicious falsehood. However, Pharmacy2U maintained that the materials distributed by the NPA constituted a trademark infringement and did not fairly compare its services with those offered by NPA members.

In July, it issued High Court proceedings asking the Court to require the NPA to supply the names and addresses of all NPA members who had received the materials with the intention of asking them to destroy all copies in their possession. The NPA defended P2U’s claims. 

Following a hearing last month, the High Court last week issued a judgment denying Pharmacy2U’s request. The online pharmacy must also pay the NPA’s legal costs.

In refusing Pharmacy2U’s application, the Court said there was a “serious risk” that the company might use the contact details to “pick off” individual NPA members, rather than pursuing the NPA itself. 

Commenting on the judgment, the NPA said: “The court has seen this for what it is, a completely unjustified and unreasonable attempt to obtain details of our members in order to intimidate them.”

Pharmacy2U declined to comment.