Clothing retailer Primark has been forced to withdraw six items of
clothing from its stores after upmarket rival Monsoon sued,
alleging that the discount chain had copied some of its designs.
Monsoon, which also owns the Accessorize stores, is demanding
£200,000 in damages for infringement of its design rights in the
products, according to reports.
"We take any infringement of our design and copyright very
seriously," said Rose Foster, Monsoon's chief executive.
The items of clothing, for women and children, include a
zigzag linen skirt, a curved panelled skirt, tropical floral print
swimwear, girls' corduroy trousers, children's striped scarf, and
poodle and heart sock.
The lawsuit follows an earlier case between the two retailers
over the alleged copying of a top and a butterfly dress. That case
settled last year with Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British
Foods, paying £23,000.
In the UK, an unregistered design right attaches automatically
to designs created after 1st August 1989, giving the owner the
right to stop anyone in the
UK
from copying the design
without authorisation.
The right only applies to designs that are substantially the
same as that originally created, and it lasts for a maximum of only
15 years.
There is also an
EU
unregistered design right,
which has similarities to the home-grown version but lasts only for
three years from the date on which the design was first made
publicly available within the
EU
.
