In this lecture, Lord Hoffmann, who recently retired as a Lord of Appealin Ordinary (Law Lord), reflects on the contribution made to Europeantrade mark law by the late Sir Hugh Laddie. In surveying Sir Hugh'sleading cases, including Wagamama, Davidoff I, Arsenal and BoehringerIngelheim, Lord Hoffmann focuses on Sir Hugh's belief that the keyfunction of a trade mark is to act as a badge of origin. Lord Hoffmannconcludes with the prediction that European trade mark lawyers may yetcome to adopt Sir Hugh's approach. Until his untimely death in November 2008, Professor Sir Hugh Laddie was the Professor of Intellectual Property at UCL.