A Chinese company is suing Dutch retail chains Blokker B.V. and Leen Bakker for selling a party tent that was allegedly copied from their designs.
The court in The Hague began the oral hearings on Wednesday and the judgment will be rendered in early November should the two parties fail to come to a settlement by themselves, the China Daily newspaper reported on Thursday.
"These two Dutch companies sell a product, namely a [party] tent or sunscreen which Zhejiang Zhengte believes to be too similar to Zhejiang Zhengte's design right and copyright," said Annemieke Kooy from Vriesendorp & Gaade, the Dutch patent firm that represents the Chinese company.
"At the time the legal proceedings were initiated, Zhejiang Zhengte knew only about Blokker and Leen Bakker selling the sunscreens. Zhejiang Zhengte did not know who the producer is, or if the producer is based in the Netherlands," Kooy told the Chinese state-owned Xinhua News Agency.
"It cannot be excluded that Zhejiang Zhengte on the one hand and Leen Bakker and Blokker on the other hand [to] enter into a settlement agreement before that date. We will wait for the judgment and cannot reveal too much about the case before the judgment will be rendered. Should a settlement be agreed upon, there will be no more need for a judgment," she added.
Leen Bakker and Blokker specialize in household products with stores in Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, and the Netherlands. Both companies are part of Blokker Holding, a privately owned Dutch company based in Amsterdam.
The case involves a party tent with a butterfly design that Zhejiang Zhengte sells worldwide. Blokker and Leen Bakker sold an identical copy, bearing the name Le Sud, China Daily reported.
Dutch media said Zhejiang Zhengte wants to stop the sale of the tents and have the remaining stock destroyed.