Acacia Srl v. Audi AG & Porsche AG
European Union Court of Justice
Joined Cases C-397/16 and C-435/16 (2017)
- Written by Jody Stuart, JD
Facts
In the European Union (EU), Audi AG (plaintiff) was a holder of Community designs for wheel rims. Acacia Srl (defendant) manufactured and sold wheel rims identical to Audi’s. Porsche AG (plaintiff) was also a holder of Community designs for wheel rims. Acacia manufactured and sold wheel rims identical to Porsche’s. In Italian and German courts, respectively, Audi and Porsche brought separate actions against Acacia for infringement of Audi’s and Porsche’s respective Community designs. Porsche also alleged that Acacia sold wheel rims in colors and sizes different from Porsche’s originals. The two national courts respectively requested preliminary rulings in the two cases from the European Union Court of Justice, which the court joined together. The requests for preliminary rulings were regarding interpretation of the repair clause, which specified certain exclusions from the protection of Community designs provided under EU law.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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