Design Rights in Wedding Dresses: Madine and Another v Phillips and Another
Jane Lambert Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (Ms Amanda Michaels) Madine and Another v Phillips and Others [2017] EWHC 3268 (IPEC) (13 Dec 2017) Thelma Madine makes wedding addresses. According to Amanda Michaels, who tried an action that Mrs Madine brought against Miss Leanne Phillips and her mother Mrs Pauline Phillips, two of her former employees, for design right and copyright infringement and passing off, "the hallmark of her dress designs is their extravagance, not just in terms of the price of the gowns, but in terms of the size and weight of the skirts, which tend to have to be supported by hoops (like a crinoline), and the elaborate nature of the decoration applied to the dresses." Mrs Madine was featured in the Channel 4 documentary My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding which was broadcast some years ago. The Action One of Mrs Madine's customers was a bride who is referred to as "Delilah" in Miss Michael's judgment....