Do you design, produce or sell products such as furniture, lamps or other everyday objects? Then the landmark Mio & Konektra ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU of 4 December 2025, concerning a Palais table and a modular Haller furniture system, is highly important for you.
In this ruling, the Court clarifies the copyright criteria for the protection of everyday objects and, for the first time, provides explicit guidance for assessing copyright infringement. Protection of product design is becoming broader, while at the same time the risk of infringement is increasing.
This blog explains what this ruling means for entrepreneurs in practice.
When is your product protected by copyright?
Copyright protects every so-called “work”. This is described as follows in Section 1 of the Dutch Copyright Act: “Copyright is the exclusive right of the maker of a work of literature, science or art, or of his successors in title, to publish and reproduce that work, subject to the limitations laid down by law.”
Your product is protected if it is the result of free and creative choices, and thereby reflects the personality of the maker. What is decisive is whether the designer had room to make choices when designing, and whether those choices are visible in the final product.
No stricter requirements apply to everyday objects than to other works. A table, cupboard or modular system can therefore be protected by copyright just as much as a book or a photograph.
If your design meets these conditions, protection arises automatically. Registration is therefore not required. You then have the exclusive right to use your design and can object to it being copied, imitated, adapted or traded without your permission. Copyright and design right can, moreover, exist alongside each other and are also independent of one another.
What are not ‘free and creative choices’?
Not every design choice can be protected by copyright. Choices that are necessary due to technical constraints are not creative in the copyright sense. So if the shape of a product is entirely technically determined, no copyright protection exists in it.
That does not mean, however, that functional products can never be protected. As soon as there is room for the designer’s own choices, copyright can arise. Those choices only count if they give the product its own, recognisable look and feel. So even ‘free’ choices are only relevant if they genuinely distinguish the design and bear the personal stamp of the maker.
Choices you are indeed free to make also only count if they reflect the personality of the author by giving the object a unique aspect.
In practice, these criteria remain vague and open to interpretation. The Court provides a kind of evidentiary rule: if the alleged infringer argues that they created their product independently of the claimant’s work, they must be able to demonstrate that. Precisely for that reason, it is important for authors to document creative choices and to be cautious about adopting recognisable design elements from existing products.
Does your design have to be unique?
The short answer is no. Your design does not need to be entirely new or revolutionary. The use of existing shapes or sources of inspiration also does not rule out copyright protection.
Factors such as market familiarity, inspiration or the designer’s intention can be taken into account, but are not decisive.
When is there infringement?
You infringe copyright if, without permission, you adopt creative elements of a protected design. This does not need to be a complete copy: adopting even a small but recognisable detail can already be enough, as long as that detail reflects the personality of the maker.
Since 1995, the assessment of copyright infringement in the Netherlands mainly looked at the overall impression of the products. In its ruling of 4 December 2025, the Court has abandoned this standard. For establishing infringement, the Court holds that the overall impression of both objects and the degree of originality of the original object are irrelevant. The test is solely whether creative elements can be recognisably found in the allegedly infringing object.
Conclusion: be careful, therefore, about copying elements from existing products.
Practical tips for entrepreneurs
To limit risks, it is therefore wise to:
- explicitly document creative choices, so that it is clear which parts of the design may be protected by copyright;
- keep design documentation, such as sketches, versions and design decisions, in order to later be able to demonstrate that the design is your own creation;
- be cautious about ‘drawing inspiration’ from existing designs, because adopting recognisable creative elements can quickly lead to infringement;
- consider whether additional protection is desirable, for example through design right or trademark right. Bear in mind that registration may be necessary for this.
Do you need support with the copyright protection of your works or with assessing infringement risks? The corporate lawyers of The Legal Company are happy to help you with this. Please feel free to contact us via info@thelegalcompany.nl or call 020-3450152.
