Cases

Sales v Stromberg & others

Held

There is no reason that a simple geometric design cannot be protected as a design for an article, subject to passing the test for originality. The Defendant had failed to establish that the designs were commonplace in the design field of complementary medical devices, including ornamental or decorative devices. Although spirals were common in rock and similar art, the Defendant’s expert had failed to appreciate the distinction between what is ordinarily termed a design (which includes surface decoration) and the definition of a design under the CDPA (a design for an article). The Defendant’s triple spiral design did not infringe the Trinity design, despite a clear causal connection between the two, as it was made from one piece of copper tubing rather than two which necessarily made the design sufficiently different. There was no breach of confidence as the Trinity design had been insufficiently developed to put it into practice.

Also