Vax ruling a ‘shot in the arm’ for innovation says IP firm
BIRMINGHAM-based intellectual property specialists who advised Vax in its landmark legal victory over rival cleaner manufacturer Dyson has said the ruling is a “shot in the arm for innovation.”
Forresters, in conjunction with EMW solicitors, advised Worcestershire-based Vax in a legal wrangle brought by James Dyson over the issue of a registered design.
Dyson had gone to the Court of Appeal after a judge last year ruled that Vax’s Mach Zen vacuum cleaner did not infringe his DC02 model.
Graham Dodd, senior associate responsible for the case at Forresters, said Vax should be proud it stuck to its principles.
“In the end, this came down to an issue of pure design, rather than the principles of design,” said Mr Dodd.
“This is a real shot in the arm for UK design and innovation, noting that nearly all of Vax’s R&D is done in this country. What we were able to do was offer clear, sensible and practical advice in relation to the design which, at all stages, the judges involved agreed with.
“The judges were of the opinion, as clearly were we, that these were very different designs which created a different overall impression. Indeed, the lead judge went so far as to highlight a number of important distinguishing features, concluding that Vax’s ‘rugged, angular and industrial’ machine was, overall, quite different to the DC02.”
Vax managing director, Simon Lawson, said: “I am proud of our UK-based design and innovation team and in the Mach Zen they have created a vacuum cleaner that is quieter and more powerful than any other multi-cyclonic cylinder on the market.”
