Legal wrangle between equestrian manufacturers is resolved.
Hi-viz specialist Equisafety has lost a legal battle to prove that Woof Wear copied its designs.
Last week (23 October), Woof Wear was awarded £60,000 costs following earlier hearings at the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court (IPEC) in London.
Issuing judgment, Deputy High Court Judge Ian Karet dismissed Equisafety’s claim against Woof Wear for copyright infringement.
The bill Equisafety now faces is the maximum allowed under IPEC rules.
Nicky Fletcher, Equisafety’s managing director and product designer, took Woof Wear to court saying it had copied her company’s hi-viz waistcoat, hat band and equine neck band.
The claim arose after Woof Wear exhibited three allegedly infringing products at the BETA International 2022 trade fair. Following Equisafety’s complaint, the items were removed from sale.
At earlier hearings since then, His Honour Judge Hacon had dismissed Equisafety’s legal actions against Woof Wear for registered design infringement and passing off.
In his recent ruling, Judge Karet said Equisafety’s copyright infringement claim against Woof Wear had failed “because the works do not qualify as works of artistic craftsmanship under the CDPA (Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988).”
He added: “I appreciate that Ms Fletcher genuinely considers that she has created a valuable market segment in high vis apparel for riders and that her products deserve copyright protection.
“That does not, however, mean that the test for copyright protection has been met.”
The full judgment can be found here: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ipec/2024/2478?query=equisafety
