Fox Williams fashion lawyer serves court order on defendant using Instagram

High Court moves with the times on design infringement rights

Fox Williams fashion lawyer Simon Bennett has served notice using the photo and video-sharing platform Instagram on behalf of the claimant Holland Cooper. Permission to serve notice using Instagram in addition to email was granted by District Judge Lambert.

The case, to be heard in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) division of the High Court, concerns the infringement by Bethan Senior of Holland Cooper’s design rights in ladies’ fashion capes. The defendant is active on social media although she has not responded to correspondence and is believed to be out of the country.

Partner Simon Bennett said: “I understand that this is the first time that the IPEC division of the High Court has granted a court order to be served by way of Instagram. This paves the way for court orders to be served on defendants via the social media channel that they access regularly. Although Instagram is less than 10 years old, it has become the platform of choice for fashion-forward companies, whatever their size, to promote their designs. However, when design rights are infringed it can also help in the protection of rightful business interests.”