From 2015 to 2020, Ilse Jacobsen's company, IJH A/S, engaged in a lengthy lawsuit against a competitor who had marketed a rubber boot, which IJH A/S perceived to be an infringement.
At first and second instance, neither the Maritime and Commercial Court nor the Western High Court considered themselves able to conclude that Ilse Jacobsen's "RUB1" was a work of copyright, and IJH A/S thus lost at both instances.
In 2019, however, the Appeals Permission Board decided that the case was one of principle. Thus, IJH A/S was, rather unusually, permitted to bring the case before the Supreme Court at third instance.
IJH A/S ultimately lost the case. Even so, Danish copyright law will never be the same again. Among other things, the Danish Supreme Court explicitly accepted what Lundgrens had being arguing all along, namely that no stricter original requirement applies relative to fashion items.
As a result, Lundgrens’ IP team was recognized by Managing IP, which announced Lundgren’s IP team as the winner of the “Impact Case of the Year” category.
Søren Danelund Reipurth, Attorney and Partner from Lundgrens' IP team says:" While the ultimate result of the judgement of the Supreme Court was not what we had hoped for, we are extremely proud that Lundgrens IP team played an important role in significantly rewriting Danish copyright law relative to fashion items.
Referring explicitly to the judgement of the CJEU in case C‐683/17 (Cofemel), the Supreme Court recognized - for the first time in Danish caselaw - that fashion items may indeed qualify for copyright protection under Danish copyright law, if only they reflect the personality of the author, as an expression of his or her free and creative choices, meaning that no stricter original requirement applies relative to fashion items.
The case and the judgement underline that Lundgrens IP team is at the IP forefront, also when it comes to fashion litigation.”
At Lundgrens, we are proud to be recognized for our work in this case in particular and congratulate the team involved.
