![]() It is important to understand the only way to enforce copyright in certain types of consumer products is if they qualify as artistic works such as works of artistic craftsmanship. Response alleged that the other garments made from jacquard fabric were infringing copies of the Wave Fabric and that EMW’s sales of garments made from those infringing fabrics amounted to primary and secondary copyright infringement. Response issued infringement proceedings claiming that copyright subsisted in the Wave Fabric as an artistic work (under s.4 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“ CDPA 1998”) either as (a) a graphic work or (b) a work of artistic craftsmanship. After stopping its supply from Response, a number of other companies supplied EWM with garments made from jacquard fabric. In 2012, Response attempted to raise the price of the tops, but EWM rejected the price increase and sought alternative suppliers. ![]() The defendant, EWM, is a major retailer of clothing with about 400 stores across the UK.īetween 20, Response supplied EWM with ladies’ tops made of a jacquard fabric with a design referred to as a ‘wave arrangement’ (the “ Wave Fabric”). The claimant, Response, is a clothing company involved in the design and marketing of clothing products. However, the legal analysis and reasoning of HHJ Hacon might expose the judgment to criticism on a number of points. It is a helpful case for owners of certain types of consumer products, which might usually be unable to have copyright enforced. It provides guidance about the qualification for works of artistic craftsmanship and seemingly expands that scope of copyright protection in the UK. The case is an interesting development in English law and the first that begins to consider the CJEU’s Cofemel decision. In Response Clothing Ltd v The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Ltd EWHC 148, His Honour Judge Hacon (“ HHJ Hacon”) found that copyright subsisted in a fabric design as a work of artistic craftmanship and that the sale of garments made from such fabric amounted to copyright infringement.
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