Overview
- The Bundesgerichtshof vacated parts of the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf decision and sent the case back for renewed review, a move the court issued on July 2, 2026.
- The EuGH ruled in late 2025 that objects of applied art face the same originality test as other works and that a work must reflect its author’s personality through free and creative choices.
- USM sued a Nuremberg online seller that lists replacement and extension components for the USM Haller system and offers an assembly service, seeking injunctive relief and damages for alleged copyright infringement.
- The OLG had denied copyright protection and allowed only competition-law claims, but the BGH found the OLG’s reasoning insufficient and told the lower court to consider later recognition and exhibition history as part of the originality inquiry.
- The OLG Düsseldorf must now re-evaluate whether USM Haller is a protected 'personal intellectual creation' and whether selling parts plus assembly infringes, a decision that could affect aftermarket parts, repair services, and how functional design is protected.