ITALIAN COURT RULES IN FAVOUR OF THE HANSEYACHTS AG
Mar 19, 2018
HanseYachts can announce another success in the case concerning the Fjord 42 open. On the 7th of March, the Court of Genoa has ruled against CdP and confirmed the preliminary injunction against the imitating ship yard. As a consequence they are still “forbidden to further manufacture, advertise, hold, exhibit, promote, sell or transfer the Pardo 43, limited to economic relations already existing or that will be instituted in the future in the Italian territory” says the Court of Genoa. The Court also ruled that future breaches of the order will lead to considerable penalties for any Pardo 43 that will be sold or promised for sale or promoted. HanseYachts will take all legal measures necessary in order to enforce this order.
In its decision the Court confirms that the behavior of the Italian shipyard is unfair and thus violates the laws against unfair competition. The Court also saw strong similarities of the Pardo 43 with Fjord 42. The behavior of the losing party was held to be unfair because a number of the features taken over in the imitative yacht were the obvious consequence of suggestions and material received from a Fjord dealer, who was contacted by the Italian ship yard in order to create a successful yacht in a short period of time.
“This court decision is a milestone for the boating industry. It is about time that the immense amount of copying stops, not only in the power boat but also in the sailing yacht sphere. The future task of the industry will be to prevent unfair copies such as the imitation of the original Fjord 42 open, in order to maintain a versatile and high quality market for customers”, says Dr. Jens Gerhardt, CEO of the HanseYachts AG.
