A German court is lowering his leg down. Birkenstocks are NO Art.
Birkenstocks are cute enough for influencers, Hollywood stars and even Barbie – but they do not qualify as art, the German Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
The company claimed that their shoes can be classified as art and are therefore protected by copyright laws.
BirKenstock first released Birkenstock-Footbed’s original sandal in 1963, displaying a flexible-lace-lace and a purely adjustable strap.
While the sandal tends to enter and outside the “Cool” category, they have been a main pillar and continue to present List A, as from Kate Moss in the 1960s or by Margot Robbie in the movie “Barbie” 2023.
Due to their popularity, shoe rivals will often sell versions of recognition, or dupes, which led the company to seek copyright protection.
The shoe manufacturer who is based in Linz am Rhein, Germany-File again a lawsuit again three competitors selling shoes similar to them, claiming that reporting sandals “are works protected by the author of applied art” .
In German law, products are distinguished between design and art. Design services a practice, while works of art must exhibit a certain measure of individual creativity, according to the BBC.
Design protection lasts only 25 years from the appearance, while artworks are covered by copyright protection for 70 years after the Creator’s passage. Carl Birkenstock, born in the 1930s, is still alive.
BirKenstock demanded an order to stop competition, which were not identified in the state of the court, to make copies of their sandals with large distance signature with large buckles, and ordering them to remember those already sold.
The judge dismissed the request, saying he was “unfounded” and adding that for the protection of copyright, “a design degree that shows individuality must be achieved.”
BirKenstock considered the ruling a “lost opportunity for the protection of intellectual property” and said in one state “continues its right against copyrights with” exhausting “all legal means to protect its protection”.
Prior to Germany’s highest court ruling on civil trials, two lower courts also heard the case – and they measured it on the matter. A regional court in Cologne initially said that the shoes were works of applied art and gave the orders.
However, Cologne’s highest regional court overturned the Appeal orders, according to the German news agency DPA. The court said it could not create artistic achievements with sandals.
The Federal Court of Justice lean on the Cologne’s appeal court, dismissing the case.
The ruling said that a product cannot be copyrighted by copyright if “technical requirements, rules or other restrictions determined the model”.
“For the protection of copyright of an applied art work – as for all other types of work.” To protect copyright, a design level that reveals individuality reveals. “
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Image Source : nypost.com