Magmatic and PMS International present their cases in long running design rights battle.
Trunki ride-on suitcase maker, Magmatic has begun presenting its case in the UK supreme court against a Hong Kong company that it argues has infringed its registered design rights.
The long-running battle with PMS International over the Kiddee case luggage could have implications for small creative businesses that rely on design rights.
Like the Trunki cases, the Kiddee cases are decorated to look like animals.
Magmatic won a high court judgment against PMS in July 2013, however this was overturned in March 2014 by the court of appeal, which ruled that the Kiddee case looked sufficiently different to the Trunki one.
Five supreme court justices are expected to give their ruling within weeks, and could decide to refer the case to the European court of justice. The UK’s Intellectual Property Office advocated a referral at the hearing.
Rob Law, founder of Magmatic, invented the Trunki in 1997 and has sold more than two million since 2004.
Licensed versions include The Gruffalo, Hello Kitty and F1.
He was famously turned down by the judges on Dragons’ Den, however went on to sign a contract with John Lewis.
