After Global Home, a member of Czech capital and joint-stock company Nivovia a.s., initiated a design imitation case against Oldbury’s Indian Furniture Direct (IFD), it has reasserted its rights to its Salisbury design.
Global Home sued IFD in the English High Court over Adelaide, a range sold by IFD which was, in Global Home’s opinion, substantially similar to its own Salisbury. IFD defended the claim on the basis that it alleged it had designed its Adelaide range independently of Salisbury, and argued that Salisbury was not a unique design.
Last month IFD, stating “legal costs far outweighing the value to IFD of the Adelaide range,” elected to settle out of court, with no admission of liability, agreeing to give undertakings in relation to the sale of Adelaide, as well as to pay to Global Home £125,000 in costs and damages.
Global Home is also currently suing the Creations department store in Northern Ireland over Creations’ sale of another purported Salisbury copy.
Global Home’s MD Otto de Jager, says: “Global Home protects its intellectual property rights vigorously, and will not allow others to get away with copies of our designs. This is just one of several claims we have brought to enforce our rights in our furniture designs, including Salisbury – we have so far been entirely successful in preventing the sale of copycat ranges, and no-one has escaped without paying us substantial compensation.”
Previously, Global Home sued IFD over rights to its Melbourne range, but eventually dropped the case.
