Bristan responds to damages case

Bristan Group has commeneted on the results of the damages enquiry resulting from a 2013 court case between it and Kohler Mira, which requires Bristan Group to pay a small royalty, in line with its expectations.
The group points out that three further damages claims made by Kohler Mira in relation to profits lost, additional advertising and promotional costs incurred and an uplift of 10 per cent on any sums for moral prejudice caused were rejected by the judge.

In the 2013 court case Bristan Group was found to have infringed some of Kohler Mira’s unregistered electric shower designs – despite there being no evidence that copying took place. The judge noted the case was “near the borderline” and there were “many differences” in the design. The judge also ruled that two of Kohler Mira’s designs were unoriginal.

In the same case, Kohler Mira’s claim that Bristan Group had infringed the registered design was rejected, and Bristan Group was awarded costs.

Based on the original ruling, Bristan Group anticipated it would need to pay a royalty on some electric showers sold between 2010 and early 2013. The amount is in line with the company’s expectations.

Commenting on the damages enquiry, Jason Smith, group supply chain and operations director at Bristan Group, said: “Bristan Group respects all design and Intellectual Property rights and we take original product design very seriously. All employees adhere to the highest ethical standards, and we do not copy or deliberately infringe other manufacturers’ designs.

“Having now put this issue behind us, we will continue to invest in our electric shower range, and we look forward to developing and growing this part of our business. We remain focused on our strategy to launch products that are innovatively designed to make life easier for our customers.”