Karen Millen Fashions Ltd v. Dunnes Stores (Limerick) Ltd

Case C-345/13 (2014)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Karen Millen Fashions Ltd v. Dunnes Stores (Limerick) Ltd

European Union Court of Justice, Second Chamber
Case C-345/13 (2014)

Facts

Karen Miller Fashions Ltd (KMF) (plaintiff) designed a striped shirt and a black knit top for women and sold them in Ireland. Dunnes Stores (Limerick) Ltd (Dunnes) (defendant), an Irish clothing retailer, arranged for a company representative to purchase examples of the KMF garments. Dunnes then manufactured copies of the garments and offered them for sale in Ireland. KMF brought an action in Ireland for an injunction to restrain Dunnes from using the designs and sued for damages. The court sided with KMF, and Dunnes appealed to the Ireland Supreme Court. Dunnes conceded that it copied the KMF designs and that the designs were new. However, Dunnes argued that KMF did not hold an unregistered Community design (i.e., a design protected by the EU Community Design Regulation even without being registered) for the garments because the garments did not have an individual character when compared to a composite of existing designs. Dunnes also argued that, for the garments to be protected by law, KMF was required to prove that the garments had an individual character and it failed to do so. The Ireland Supreme Court referred questions of law for preliminary rulings to the European Union Court of Justice.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership