Ferrari wins EU court backing in rights spat with German car designer
Reuters
Published Oct 28, 2021 11:01AM ET
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian luxury sports car maker Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) on Thursday won its dispute with a German car design company after Europe's top court agreed with its arguments that it owns the design right to the appearance of its race track car Ferrari FXX K.
The case has implications for a wide swathe of industries, in particular luxury brands seeking to protect their designs from knock-offs, and manufacturers of complex products made up of numerous components.
The ruling from the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) came after a German court sought guidance in a design spat between Ferrari and German car design company Mansory Design over certain elements of the Ferrari FXX K's bodywork.
At issue is the V-shaped section of the bonnet and the front bumper which distinguish the Ferrari FXX K from other cars.
Ferrari had sued Mansory Design in the German court for making and selling these accessories designed to make the Ferrari 488 GTB, which is priced at around $250,000, look like the $2.6 million Ferrari FXX K, saying the company had violated its rights to the unregistered designs.
The CJEU said a component can be considered to be an individual part with design rights if it is "a visible section of the product or complex product, clearly defined by particular lines, contours, colours, shapes or texture".
The case is C-123/20 Ferrari.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.