Etailers VidaXL Marketplace and HBI Commerce have settled out of court after Core Products claimed its Augusta range had been copied.
Solicitors Taylors issued proceedings in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court on behalf of Core, which claimed for an injunction to restrain the defendants from infringing Core Product’s design rights and unregistered community design rights in its Augusta range (pictured), delivery up of infringing stock, recall of infringing stock from commerce channels and payment of compensation and costs. The parties have reached a confidential settlement in the dispute.
‘Core Products is justifiably proud of its heritage of designing and developing furniture which has specific features especially tailored to UK flat-packed furniture buying consumers. It is only by having this dedication and experience in the furniture trade that enables us to develop the pieces we sell and therefore feel the integrity of our products should be protected. The settlement of this case reflects this,’ says the company.
‘We are delighted to have assisted Core Products in achieving settlement of this dispute. It is crucial for designers to be able to issue proceedings at economic cost in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court to protect their work from copying, especially against large multi-national corporations. Without the ability to do so, companies like Core Products could end up being pushed out of the design market. We are pleased to have been able to agree a settlement for Core Products within weeks of issuing proceedings,’ says Rebecca Horne, Taylors IP lawyer.
