Dunnes Stores is facing substantial legal costs following the Supreme Court dismissal of its appeal against charges made by fashion company Karen Millen.
The saga, which concluded yesterday, has been running since 2008, when the High Court ruled that Dunnes had infringed Karen Millen's 'rights to unregistered community design under council regulation (EC) number 6/2002', with the release of a black knit top and blue and brown shirts that Karen Millen alleged were copies of its own design.
A dismissal order and costs order against Dunnes were made by the Supreme Court. It followed a decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which rejected Dunnes' defence arguments.
The ECJ said that Karen Millen had placed its garments on sale in Ireland in 2005, and the items were subsequently purchased by Dunnes representatives.
“Dunnes subsequently had copies of the garments manufactured outside Ireland and put them on sale in its Irish stores in late 2006," the ECJ said.
