A few days ago, The Commercial Court in Belgrade, Serbia, delivered its verdict of first instance, The import and sale of auto parts whose appearance is the same as that of auto parts protected by valid industrial product design registration in Serbia constitutes an infringement of industrial product design.

It was the first such ruling in practice in Serbia, So it's very significant, Because it could affect future decisions related to counterfeit auto parts. A firm represents the owner of the rights——French carmaker Renault (Renaul) And its Romanian subsidiary Dacia (Dacia) ——A lawsuit was filed against a Serbian company, Accused of selling Dacia without the consent of the plaintiffs Sandero A replacement headlight for a car, Side mirrors and grille. The car parts are visually identical to the original parts protected by Renault's exterior design, It bears the Dacia logo.

First of all, The plaintiff tried to settle the matter out of court, It sent cease and desist letters to the Serbian company, But the company refused to comply with the plaintiffs' demands. The plaintiff then filed a request for access to evidence with the Belgrade Commercial Court. The court granted the request, But the defendants refused to allow plaintiffs' lawyers and commercial court officers access to their premises. The plaintiff finally 2017 years 11 month 15 Japan filed a lawsuit with the Commercial court.

Near the duration 4 Years of litigation, court-appointed 2 An intellectual property expert witness prepared expert opinions on design and trademark infringement. Court appointed financial expert witnesses according to the Serbian company in 2014 Year to year 2020 The number of counterfeit auto parts sold during the year (200 headlight, 30 A side mirror and 71 grille) The damages caused by the infringement are determined.

Finally, The commercial court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, And for the first time in Serbian practice, The import and sale of replacement parts for automobiles that have the same appearance as the products protected by the industrial design registration constitute infringement of industrial design.

The fact that the court awarded damages in this case is important, Because in Serbian practice, Court for intellectual property infringement, In particular, design infringement, It is very rare to award damages. The defendant can appeal against the decision of the commercial court, But the decision seems unlikely to be overturned. The ruling is significant, Because it would allow rights holders to invoke the ruling when fighting such infringements, And it may stop the sale of fake auto parts.

So far, There are no such rulings in Serbian practice, Europe and the practice of auto parts appearance design infringement is not conclusive.

(Compiled from www. petosevic. com)

Reprinted from China Intellectual Property Network   translation: Rason group　proofread: Liu Peng

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