The Eastern High Court: Label infringes design right

The Eastern High Court upholds the Maritime and Commercial High Court ruling, which expands the protection of proprietors. Horten represented the manufacturer of a diaper pail, Sangenic, and the High Court ruled that the use of a picture of the design-protected pail constituted an infringement of the design right.

Sangenic was the first manufacturer of diaper pails with cassettes where used diapers are sealed in bags. Later on, Lamico started selling cassettes fitting into Sangenic's pails and with labels depicting Sangenic's pails.

Sangenic is the proprietor of a registered EU design right of a three-dimensional design of the entire depicted diaper pail, but in this connection, Sangenic wanted to prevent a two-dimensional use of the design in connection with Lamico's sale of cassettes for the pail.

The High Court upheld the Maritime and Commercial High Court ruling stating that the diaper pail depicted on the label had the same characteristics as Sangenic's registered design thereby constituting a reproduction of the design.