ACID Member HALO awarded damages following IP court battle

Anti Copying in Design (ACID) Member Halo Creative & Design Limited (Halo) has won a significant court victory against Comptoir Des Indes (CDI) after the latter was found guilty of knowingly infringing two of Halo’s U.S. Design Patents.

The case, which was put before a federal jury in Chicago, Illinois, resulted in the court issuing a  permanent injunction, prohibiting CDI from selling, offering for sale, or promoting the infringing products within the United States.

The court also entered an Order awarding Halo pre-judgment interest on the amount awarded by the jury, bringing Halo’s total damages award to nearly $US 3.8 million.

Emily Haslam, Halo’s General Counsel, said: “The Halo Group is sincerely gratified that the Federal Court and the Jury have recognized Halo’s intellectual property rights in its iconic furniture and lighting designs. This is a landmark case, for Halo, our legal team and the entire furniture and lighting design industry in the US. We are particularly pleased that the Court acknowledged and vindicated our copyright rights in many of our original furniture and lighting designs. Original designers should not have to stand by and watch copyists flood the global market with cheap imitations of their genuine products.”

Dids Macdonald OBE, ACID’s CEO, said: “Halo’s proactive global IP strategy is consistent and robust and this sends a crystal clear message of a zero tolerance to IP infringement. They are determined to challenge any copies which dilute their highly successful design-led brand in any way. Companies such as Comptoir des Indes have learnt a very expensive lesson, a message Halo hope will be heard far and wide in their fight against unlawful infringement, a sanitised word for theft.”