No Design Rights Protection for Colors
July 21, 2004 | Levent OZLER
The Court of Appeal last week dismissed an action for design right infringement, ruling that there was no national unregistered design right in a multicoloured tracksuit top. But the Court indicated that there could be an EU Community design right in such a product.
The case concerned a tracksuit top designed for clothing firm Lambretta in 2000 by a Mr Robert Harmer. While tracksuit tops all have a similar shape, the colours and logos shown on them are different. Harmer's design had red arms with two white stripes, white zips, a blue body, and the company logo shown to front and back.
But when rival firms Teddy Smith and Next began selling similar tops, Lambretta sued, alleging that the companies had infringed either upon its unregistered design rights or upon its artistic copyright.
An unregistered design right attaches automatically to designs created after 1st August 1989, giving the owner the right to stop anyone in the UK from copying the design without authorisation.
The right only applies to designs that are substantially the same as that originally created, and it lasts for a maximum of only 15 years.
The case, first considered by the UK High Court in 2003, hinged on whether an unregistered design right could exist in the selection of colours for a top at all, or whether it was knocked out by these exce
more: out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=nodesignrightprot (79)
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