In a landmark case, concerning the design rights of spare parts, Birmingham law firm Wragge & Co’s intellectual property experts have scored an important victory for Dyson and the design industry.
In a High Court judgment, following a 14-day trial, Mr Justice Mann held that Qualtex, Europe’s largest manufacturer and distributor of domestic appliance spare parts, had infringed Dyson’s design rights in respect of 11 different spare parts and accessories for vacuum cleaners.
It is the first case that has tested the extent to which manufacturers can control the aftermarket in spare parts since the introduction of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act in 1989.
IP partner and dispute resolution specialist, Cerryg Jones, led the Wragge & Co team with support from IP partner David Barron, associate Nicola Tatchell and solicitor Carina Loweth. The team worked very closely with Gill Smith, head of IP at Dyson. Wragge & Co has an existing relationship with Dyson, providing it with full service legal support. Willoughby & Partners acted for Qualtex.
Mr Jones said: “Design rights are a fundamental part of any modern manufacturing and design-led company.
“Designers and companies invest resources, time and effort into creating products and it is vital that these rights are protected. Our team worked well with the in-house team at Dyson on this long and complex case, and I am extremely pleased with the outcome.”
Gill Smith, head of IP, said: “Our objective was to ensure that Qualtex did not infringe our design rights. We felt it was important to stand up for the creative process and protect the rights of designers and engineers.”
Founded by inventor James Dyson, Dyson is one of the UK’s best-known and most innovative companies.
Its products, which marry functionality with design, have revolutionised the domestic appliances market. Dyson has achieved sales of more than £3 billion worldwide. Its products are designed and developed by a team of 350 scientists and engineers.
Wragge & Co’s 10-partner national IP Team is one of the UK’s top-tier IP practices, delivering advice on contentious and non-contentious matters to UK and multinational corporates. Clients include British Airways, Mark & Spencer, Unilever and Heinz.
Meanwhile, the debt finance team at Wragge & Co has acted for Lloyds TSB Bank as agent and joint lead arranger on the provision of a multi-currency revolving syndicated loan facility of £80 million to Keller Group.
The syndicate consisted of five international banks from the UK, US, Germany, Ireland and Australia.
Debt finance partner Chris Brierley led the team, assisted by associate Edward Sunderland. The team advised Lloyds TSB on the negotiation and drafting of the financing, which included the creation of intra-group guarantees in England, Germany and the US.
Mr Brierley said: “The debt finance team is growing in stature with every transaction. We have top quality people advising leading banks and major corporates on high profile and challenging cross-border and UK deals. Last year we completed a significant number of deals for Lloyds TSB, and with other clients.”
From icBirmingham