Hanse CEO condemns immense amount of copying in boat industry
Italian Court rules in favour of the HanseYachts AG over Italian imitator's Fjord 42 copyAs we reported previously, German boatbuilder HanseYachts obtained a preliminary injunction against an Italian imitator allegedly building a copy of its successful Fjord 42 luxury cruiser.
On March 6, 2018, the Italian court confirmed its preliminary injunction against Cantiere del Pardo S.p.A.
The Italian shipyard — which builds Grand Soleil yachts and Pardo powerboats — is not allowed to manufacture, promote, sell or transfer its Pardo 43 with effect in Italy.
Dr. Jens Gerhardt, CEO of the HanseYachts AG, proclaimed the court decision as a milestone for the global boating industry.
"It is about time that the immense amount of copying stops, not only in the powerboat 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," Mr Gerhardt added.
The Italian 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, it says.
In its decision the Court confirms that the behaviour of the Italian shipyard was unfair and thus violates the laws against unfair competition. The Court saw strong similarities of the Pardo 43 with Fjord 42, Hanse said in its press release on the matter.
The behaviour 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.
"The HanseYachts AG is a stocklisted company and we are legally obliged by law to state the truth. We therefore confirm that the information given in this press release is based on facts and official decisions by the Italian court," Mr Gerhardt said.
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