Spin Master Ltd v PMS International Group

Spin Master Ltd v PMS International Group

The court limited the scope of evidence and disclosure, refused requests for further information and amendments at this stage, imposed page limits on expert evidence, and set a reduced trial length, emphasizing that registered design cases should be short and focused on core issues.

Parties
Claimant: Spin Master Limited; Defendant: PMS International Group
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
09 May 2017
Procedural Posture
Intellectual Property Registered Design and Counterclaim / Case Management Conference
Outcome
Case management orders issued; requests for further information and amendments refused at this stage; trial length reduced; limited disclosure and expert evidence permitted.
Legal Topics
Community Registered Design, Infringement, Unjustified Threats, Case Management, Disclosure, Expert Evidence
Intellectual Property Civil Procedure Community Registered Design Infringement Unjustified Threats Case Management Disclosure Expert Evidence

Case Brief

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Parties

Spin Master Limited

Claimant

PMS International Group

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Intellectual Property Registered Design and Counterclaim / Case Management Conference

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendant's product infringes the claimant's Community Registered Design
  2. 2 Whether threats of infringement were unjustified
  3. 3 Scope and admissibility of evidence

Ratio Decidendi

The court limited the scope of evidence and disclosure, refused requests for further information and amendments at this stage, imposed page limits on expert evidence, and set a reduced trial length, emphasizing that registered design cases should be short and focused on core issues.

Court Disposition

Case management orders issued; requests for further information and amendments refused at this stage; trial length reduced; limited disclosure and expert evidence permitted.

Orders

  • Exchange of enlarged photographs of products to illustrate similarities and differences.
  • Defendant to disclose prior designs relied upon for design corpus.