Awa Law wins DK High Court case on copies of plastic storage boxes

On 22 October 2018, the Danish Eastern High Court gave its decision in a case where Awa Law represented Orthex Sweden AB against Plast Team A/S.

Plast Team A/S had launched a series of plastic storage boxes called TopStore. This series did in all relevant aspects appear to be copy of Orthex Sweden AB bestselling product SmartStore.

The boxes can be seen here:

The High Court found that the SmartStore boxes possessed such aesthetic and design characteristics that they were protected according to the Danish Marketing Act, though not copyright protected. The TopStore series was found to be a slavish copy of SmartStore, which during the proceedings also had been confirmed by a court expert. Additional key points were the lack of own visual identity for TopStore, the similarity and choice of sizes and the use of Store in the product name.

Plast Team A/S was prohibited from producing, marketing, selling, importing and exporting the TopStore series. They must also recall and destroy boxes already delivered to the retailers. Further, Orthex Sweden AB was awarded damages for the infringement.

Awa Law was delighted to help our client win this case and help them protect the rights of their bestselling product.

To read the full verdict, please click here (Danish only).