Design Rights

AG Opinion, CDSM Directive, CJEU, Design Rights, Digital Single Market, European Union, Private copying, Round-up

(University College London) and (Institute for Information Law (IViR))/ /Leave a comment

Welcome to the third trimester of the 2022 round up of EU copyright law! In this series, we update readers every three months on developments in EU copyright law. This includes Court of Justice (CJEU) and General Court judgments, Advocate Generals’ (AG) opinions, and important policy developments. You can read the previous round-ups here. CJEU…

Authorship, Design Rights, European Union, Originality

(University of Leeds)/ /Leave a comment

Fashion is an industry largely led by seasonal trends. Status-conferring new designs are being launched bi-annually, during the Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer fashion shows, to meet the needs of our capitalistic society. Even though fashion designs are often inspired by the prior art, seasonal trends precondition innovation – new design themes that make the highly desirable…

AG Opinion, Belgium, Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Originality, Subject matter (copyrightable)

(The University of Nottingham)/ /1 Comment

This case concerned the famous Brompton bicycle which can be folded to carry away after use (Case C‑833/18, SI, Brompton Bicycle Ltd. v. Chedech / Get2Get); the author commented on the Advocate General’s opinion here and here. The bike was once protected by a patent and, following its expiry, the defendant (Get2Get) started selling a…

AG Opinion, Belgium, Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Infringement, Originality, Subject matter (copyrightable)

(The University of Nottingham)/ /Leave a comment

Part I of this post provided an overview of the facts of the case and the recent opinion of AG Campos Sanchez-Bordona. Overall, the opinion is a mixed result. It makes some good points but also some ill-judged ones, and these will be explored in more detail in this post. Let us start with the positive…

AG Opinion, Belgium, Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Infringement, Subject matter (copyrightable)

(The University of Nottingham)/ /Leave a comment

This case concerned the famous Brompton bicycle which can be folded to carry away after use (Case C‑833/18, SI, Brompton Bicycle Ltd. v. Chedech / Get2Get). The bike was once protected by a patent and, following its expiry, the defendant (Chedech/Get2Get) embarked on selling a similar bike in Belgium (the designs of the two bikes…

Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union

(Elzaburu)/ /Leave a comment

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) defines the principle of cumulative protection under the systems for protection of designs and of works, in order to clarify the circumstances in which designs and models may additionally be considered a “work” and be entitled to the protection conferred by copyright under the InfoSoc Directive….

Case Law, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Originality

(The University of Nottingham)/ /Leave a comment

On 12 September 2019, the CJEU held that according to article 2(a) of Directive 2001/29 (the InfoSoc Directive), Member States’ copyright laws can no longer protect models (in other words works of applied art or designs) on the ground that, beyond their utilitarian purpose, they generate a distinctive and significant visual effect from an aesthetic…

AG Opinion, CJEU, Design Rights, European Union, Originality

(The University of Nottingham)/ /Leave a comment

On 2 May 2019, Advocate General Szpunar delivered his opinion in Case C-683/17, Cofemel – Sociedade de Vestuário SA v. G-Star Raw CV (not yet available in English). The case concerned designs for t-shirts and jeans made by G-Star Raw. In essence, the question posed by the Portuguese Supreme Court is whether Member States have…

Case Law, Design Rights, Infringement, Liability, United Kingdom

, (Bristows LLP)/ /Leave a comment

The High Court of England and Wales recently gave judgment in Cantel v Arc ([2018] EWHC 345 (Pat). Of most interest for this blog is the aspect of the case which considers when an infringing party has the requisite knowledge to be liable for secondary acts of infringement (such as importation and sale). The case…