The Court of Appeal of Paris has just delivered a judgment in which it grants copyright to the creator of certain Ladurée stores.
She was commissioned to set up several sales outlets between 2006 and 2008, after which Ladurée had decided to put an end to this collaboration.
As a result of various disagreements, the two parties entered into a settlement agreement in which the designer waived its intellectual property rights, with the exception of the moral rights, which Ladurée undertook to respect.
The present dispute concerned the reproduction of photographs of the premises in a book, not mentioning the name of Mrs. X, and thus violating her moral right.
The Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment of the Court of first Instance of Paris recognizing a copyright to Mrs. X for “the decoration and overall layout of the blue salon on the floor of the Bonaparte store in Paris, The Black Lounge and the Opera Lounge of the Ladurée Store, and the Ginza Tea Lounge in Tokyo.”
It condemns the company Ladurée as well as the publishing company Hachette for violation of the moral right of the designer.
This judgment is interesting insofar as it is rare for copyright in a store arrangement to be recognized by the courts, whereas many brands and franchises are increasingly seeking to differentiate themselves through this, creating original universes.
