The copyright protection for utilitarian objects is subject to the same requirements as for other subject matter, said the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a judgment handed down on Thursday 4 December (joined cases C-580/23 and C-795/23).
In Sweden and Germany, two furniture manufacturers believe that retailers have infringed their copyright in dining room tables and a modular furniture system.
The CJEU has been asked to rule on the conditions under which a utilitarian...