Linet has won a legal dispute with Spanish bed manufacturer, Medical Iberica – Medisa. The court case, lasting almost three years, concerned a breach of industrial design for the Linet Eleganza Smart bed, which the Spanish company was accused of copying without authorisation in two of its models.
Based on the ruling of the Supreme Court in Madrid, Medical Iberica – Medisa must cease production of the beds, pay LIinet part of the turnover from their sales and publish the ruling in the professional magazine, Mundo Medico.
Michal Jordán, who is responsible for the protection of intellectual property at LINET, said: "The development of the Eleganza Smart bed cost our company a considerable amount. Leading industrial designers also contributed to the final design solution. We noted attempts to benefit from our work almost immediately after it went on the market.
"We tried to reach an out-of-court resolution of the situation, which we prefer in such cases, but without success. The decision of the Spanish court in our favour shows that strict protection of intellectual property and related investments pays off."
Linet protects the industrial design of their bed at the OHIM (Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market); so the result of the court case applies in all EU member states. Linet spends almost $4m each year protecting their intellectual property.