Copyright - Equisafety Ltd v Woof Wear Ltd
Jane Lambert Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ( Ian Karet) Equisafety Ltd v Woof Wear Ltd [2024] EWHC 2478 (IPEC) (25 Sept 2024) This was an action by the Wirral-based company Equisafety Ltd ("Equisafety") for infringement of copyright in three high-visibility ("high vis") equestrian products. These were a waistcoat, an elasticated hat band, and a neckband for a horse some of which are shown in the above photos. The defendant, Woof Wear Ltd ("Woof Wear"), had exhibited similar goods at the Beta International Exhibition . Woof Wear admitted that if copyright subsisted in those items and if the claimant company owned those copyrights then it would have infringed those rights. Consequently, the issues to be tried were whether copyright subsisted in those high-vis items and, if it did, whether Equisafety owned those copyrights. The Preliminary Hearing At a hearing before Ms Pat Treacy on or about 24 Jan 2024, Equisafety was ordered to identify the