Dunnes Stores unlawfully commissioned and sold copies of clothes designed by UK fashion group, Mosaic, the High Court heard yesterday.
Mosaic, which owns Karen Millen, Coast, Whistles and a number of other chains, said yesterday that Dunnes commissioned a subcontractor, DH International, to produce copies of a jumper and shirt designed by Karen Millen.
The UK group said that Dunnes also copied two garments produced by Coast stores and one by Whistle.
Mosaic argues that its designs were original and therefore protected by Irish and EU law as "unregistered designs" (see panel). It is seeking to be paid the profits that the Irish group made as a result.
Dunnes Stores is contesting the claim and will argue that the designs were not original.
Clare Hallam, senior knitwear designer with Karen Millen, told the court that in 2005, she designed a v-neck cotton-viscose top with a number of distinctive features. These included a button at the neckline stamped with the Karen Millen brand.
She said this was sold as part of a line called the "city safari story" in spring 2006. Ms Hallam was subsequently shown a similar garment sold by Dunnes under its Savida brand.
The designer said that there was virtually no difference between the two. "If they were hanging on a hanger in a shop I would be pushed to see the differences between them," she said.
Dunnes' senior counsel, Richard Nesbitt, said he understood that the design team at Karen Millen used magazines and other sources when planning a new range of clothes.
However, Ms Hallam stresssed that she originated the jumper's design herself, and that it was not based on any of this material.
Mr Nesbitt also argued that consumers would not necessarily recognise subtle design differences, but Ms Hallam claimed that Karen Millen's clothes are aimed at customers seeking distinctive "designer" style clothing.
Mosaic's senior counsel, Michael McDowell, told Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan that lawyers for the company discovered an order from Dunnes to the sub-contractor, DH International, which referred to a Karen Millen jumper. He said there were also a number of e-mails between DH International and a Turkish manufacturer dealing with a Karen Millen top and a Karen Millen jumper.
In addition, he said that there were receipts showing that Dunnes bought items of Karen Millen clothing in Brown Thomas and Dundrum Shopping centre, in Dublin, in early 2006. He said that this demonstrated that a Karen Millen shirt was physically given to a manufacturer so it could be copied.
The case continues today.
