An independent garage which unlawfully used the branding of The AA’s breakdown and repair service on its vehicles and advertisements has been found guilty of breaching copyright laws.
County Durham-based Denhamfields Limited used AA trademarks and logos without permission – and was warned on more than one occasion by the nationally-recognised recovery company to remove the branding from its advertisements, a Court heard.
Following failures to comply with the AA’s requests, corporate officials visited Denhamfields Limited in person in July 2015 – and then again in August, when AA staff were annoyed to see that “the logos were still there,” a Judge was told.
Denhamfields Limited company director, Gill Robinson, claimed that she was under the impression that her company was an approved AA repair centre.
She told a Court that her firm had carried out numerous repairs on behalf of the AA – and that she felt that this qualified the company as an AA-approved repairer.
However, a Judge ruled that Ms Robinson and Denhamfields Limited had breached the AA’s copyright.
Ms Robinson subsequently pleaded guilty to five charges on Denhamfields Limited’s behalf.
The disgruntled garage owner was ordered to pay numerous fines and costs within a maximum of 14 days as a result of the offences.