The validity of an unregistered community design according to the CJEU

20.06.2014

The Court of Justice of the European Union has solved the case between Karen Millen Fashions Ltd and Dunnes Stores, ruling its judgment C-345/13, of 19th of June, 2014.
 

This started on 2 January 2007, when Karen Millen, a producing and selling women’s clothing company, sued Dunnes Stores, a retailing group, after they copied and put on sale two garments:  a striped shirt (in a blue and a stone brown version) and a black knit top.

Also, Karen Millen Fashions Ltd claimed to be the holder of unregistered Community designs regarding the above mentioned items.

On the other hand, Dunnes claimed that Karen Millen is not the holder of said unregistered Community design for both garments according to the Regulation No 6/2002 since they do not have individual character, and that Karen Millen must prove that both items have individual character.

In this sense, the Court considered that a design will be considered to have individual character if the overall impression which that design produces on the informed user is different from that produced on such a user by one or more earlier designs, taken individually and not by a combination of features taken in isolation and drawn from a number of earlier designs.

In addition, it stated that in order for a Community design court to treat an unregistered Community design as valid, the right holder has to indicate said design`s element or elements that constitute its individual character.

 

 

Written by: Alejandra Rosero

Image by MPD01605 under Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-SA 2.0)



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