A prominent London-based designer who challenged a now-liquidated Italian company over intellectual property (IP) infringement has won her case, according to reports.
Stella McCartney, well-known fashion designer and daughter of Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney, alleged that Imax S.r.l had infringed both the design and the trade mark of her popular ‘Falabella’ bag.
Ms McCartney’s design, which was first launched back in 2009, has grown in popularity over the years and this is not the first time Ms McCartney has launched legal action against an alleged imitator.
In this instance, Ms McCartney alleged that Imax had ‘copied’ several protected features of her Falabella bag and advertised their imitation products in its catalogues under the name ‘Mod. Stella McCartney.’
In its defence, Imax claimed that there were a number of key differences between Falabella bags and the products which they themselves were selling. Most notably, Imax’s products featured a shoulder belt, and used real leather as opposed to the eco-leather used in Ms McCartney’s Falabella design.
The Court of Milan agreed that the Falabella bag differed slightly in “shape, size and ornament” from the bags sold by the now-liquidated Imax in its Italian catalogues.
However, it ruled that the Italian company had still infringed the design and trade mark of Ms McCartney, on account of the fact the ‘main’ features of its bags had clearly imitated in the London fashionista’s overall design and concept.
Imax was ordered to pay Ms McCartney 110,00 Euros (£96,000) after the Court also found the Italian company liable for unfair competition, due to the fact it was selling its imitation products at highly reduced prices.