Copyright Lessons from the Fourth Circuit

History of the Litigation

The story of this dispute begins at the Fall 2004 International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, NC. During that market, Universal learned that Collezione was displaying in Collezione's showroom certain furniture collections that were strikingly similar to two of Universal's leading collections, called “Grand Inheritance” and “English Manor” (collectively the “Collections”). Upon investigation, Universal's representatives became convinced that Collezione was displaying actual pieces from Universal's English Manor Collection in Collezione's showroom. Universal brought suit against Collezione under the Copyright Act for infringing Universal's copyrighted designs in the Collections, and under the Lanham Act and the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (the “UDTPA”) for reverse passing off. In 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina denied Universal's request for a preliminary injunction barring Collezione's promotion and sale of Collezione's competing collections. Noting the relative sparsity of the preliminary injunction record, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction, agreeing with the determination that the designs compilations “likely were not conceptually separable from the furniture's utilitarian function.” Universal Furniture, 618 F.3d at 426.