A legal action in which a gift importer and manufacturer claimed a souvenir Irish soccer ball had been unlawfully copied and put on sale by a Dublin retail outlet was settled yesterday.
Allied Imports Ltd sought an injunction in the Commercial Court over the sale of the ball from two Dublin stores in North Earl Street and Moore Street operated by Eurogeneral Retail Ltd and Eurogeneral Wholesale Ltd.
The ball, which was claimed to have been designed by an employee of Allied Imports in 2002, was one of three trademark items which the company claimed was being infringed by Eurogeneral.
The other two items were a "Leprechaun Face" which was incorporated into a pair of slippers supplied by Allied Imports and an "Annie Ireland Rag Doll" which was copyrighted by them. All three featured in a catalogue produced by Allied Imports, which is based at North West Business Park, Ballycoolin, Dublin.
The sale of these items by Eurogeneral was a breach of the Industrial Designs Act 2001 and of copyright legislation, managing director of Allied Imports Robert Scanlan said in an affidavit.
Allied Imports sought orders prohibiting Eurogeneral from passing itself off as a business partners of Allied Imports or of its goods and services.
It also sought the withdrawal from sale of these products and damages.
When the case came before the Commercial Court yesterday, Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told it had been settled.