Fiesta Studios reaches favourable settlement with Sparta Statues in ongoing IP Infringement battle.

Long-time members and supporters of Anti Copying in Design (ACID), Fiesta Studios Limited, a company designing, licensing and wholesaling high-quality giftware, homeware and ornaments, has successfully resolved an ongoing and persistent copyright infringement dispute with Sparta Statues. The matter has been settled without the necessity for Court proceedings. Following legal correspondence, an agreement was reached with Sparta, and although the terms of that agreement are confidential, Fiesta is delighted with the outcome and is looking forward to moving on with its business.

Fiesta Studios holds the exclusive licence to sell various ‘Greenmen’ designs and became aware that Sparta was selling what appeared to be infringing copies of several of those designs, thus infringing their copyright.  Initial requests, asking the company to discontinue the sale of the infringing works, proved unsuccessful. Fiesta sought immediate legal advice from IP specialists, ACID legal affiliate firm, McDaniel & Co.

Director and IP solicitor Kelly Hudson of McDaniel & Co said, “As an ACID legal affiliate who has acted for Fiesta Studios on many occasions, I am familiar not only with the IP provenance of Fiesta’s designs but also their proactive and instant stance on copying issues. As soon as they discover an IP infringement, we can act decisively and quickly. On this occasion, even though the terms of the settlement are confidential, they are very happy with the outcome and it sends a clear message to them that Fiesta mean business, at all times strengthening their IP message to those that copy.”

Andy Kingston, Managing Director of Fiesta Studios said, “I am absolutely sick and tired of those who do not respect basic intellectual property ethics, respect and compliance and seek the fast track to market through plain and simple IP theft. We are proud to be members of ACID and support their ongoing campaigning to ensure that the theft of unregistered designs will be a crime, in the same way as it is a crime to intentionally infringe a registered design. This will strengthen the message that crime does not pay, especially when prison sentences are involved.”

Dids Macdonald, OBE., CEO of ACID said, “Sparta must surely receive a very strong message that any company that infringes Fiesta’s designs will be named and shamed. The message is crystal clear – no-one can flagrantly copy the designs of others who are the official licensors. Let this be a strong message to anyone contemplating design infringement, that the consequences are serious.”