T&A Textiles and Hosiery Ltd v Hala Textiles UK Ltd, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court
T&A has lost its claim for copyright infringement, and Hala has succeeded in its claim for unjustified threats of registered design infringement made to its customers and in communication to eBay. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court found that there had been no infringement as it had already been sold or imported before T&A’s creation of its drawings. In writing to Hala’s customers, T&A had created threats of legal action and these were unjustified. The case also involved a ruling that the complaint under eBay’s VeRO system and the subsequent letter to eBay was a clear threat, specifically mentioning the registered design and court proceedings. Care is needed when sending out a letter or other communication warning of intellectual property rights infringements, as a one-time innocent party can become the wrongdoer.