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Rains wins lawsuit battle against Inditex for design infringement by Zara

Tom Bottomley
15 May 2020

Danish rainwear and lifestyle brand Rains has today announced it has won a lawsuit against multi-billion-dollar Spanish fashion retailer, Inditex, owner of high street giant Zara, regarding design infringement of two signature outerwear designs.

Initially filed back in 2016 with the Danish Court Administration, the motion was against direct "knock-offs" by Zara of two Rains waterproof outerwear silhouettes, "Parka Coat" and "Long Jacket".

What is an unprecedented account of a small player within the fashion industry taking on the behemoth that is Inditex, the Spanish retailer will be ordered to compensate Rains, with an amount that will be decided at a later date.

The case has taken just over four years of persistence from Rains, a lengthy processing period postponed and drawn out by Inditex.

Lead by one of Rains’ co-founders, Daniel Brix Hesselager, the investment in legal injunctive relief was not pursued by the desire for monetary compensation, but more of a mission to set a precedent within the industry.

Hesselager says: “We want to show that global giants cannot unimpededly steal designs and violate rights as a part of their business model. We are aware that many professionals in and outside of the fashion industry have been anticipating the result of this lawsuit to potentially follow in our footsteps. We aim to encourage more companies to take up the fight.”

It’s a success for Rains on their Danish home front and, based on the verdict, the next step for Rains is the evaluation of pursuing international actions.

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