Sealegs claims victory in copyright case
NZ manufacturer successfully sues former employees for breach of copyright.
New Zealand manufacturer of amphibious vehicles, Sealegs International, has claimed victory in a copyright infringement case involving rival manufacturers and former employees.
The High Court of New Zealand found that the defendants - Orion Marine Limited, Darren Leybourne, Smuggler Marine Limited, David Pringle, Stryda Marine, Vladan Zubcic and Yun Zhan – had infringed Sealegs' copyright with their design and manufacture of retractable wheels used to convert boats to amphibious vehicles.
Orion Marine was run by Darren Leybourne, a former Sealegs employee, who employed Vladan Zubcic, who also previously worked at Sealegs, to design an amphibious vehicle system for boat builder, Smuggler Marine.
Explaining the decision, Justice Paul Davison said: “I find that what the defendants did copy was a substantial part of the Sealegs copyright models by reason of their adoption and reproduction of the Sealegs arrangement or pattern of features.
“By doing so they did much more than 'filch' the core design concepts and features embodied in the Sealegs pattern, they unreservedly appropriated it.
“Having first appropriated the Sealegs arrangement or pattern, the independent design work thereafter undertaken by the defendants resulted in some different engineering solutions and a different appearance, but nevertheless retained the essential Sealegs pattern and composition of components.”
Justice Davidson added that he found the evidence of some of the defendants “lacking in credibility” as regards their explanation for the development of their designs.
“This was an arrangement or pattern of components that was already well known to them,” he said.
The defendants are now restrained by injunction from infringing on Sealegs copyright and are prevented from manufacturing, displaying, offering for sale or selling the Orion S25-4WD and S25-3WD amphibious systems, either as a separate kit or installed on the hull of a craft.
In a statement, Sealegs said: “Sealegs was forced to take legal action against the defendants in order to protect its IP and the investment Sealegs has made in its unique amphibious design. We are very pleased with successfully securing this High Court judgement which, as we expected, showed that the defendants had unlawfully copied the Sealegs amphibious design.
“The court case has been a time-consuming distraction for Sealegs and the proceedings have cost the business over NZ$1 million.”
Sealegs will now seek court costs and damages from the defendants. It has also sought a court order for all the infringing Orion designs to be destroyed.
“We welcome competition in the market but we will not stand by and watch unlawful business practices such as stealing or copying patented technology ” said Mark Broadley CEO of Future Mobility Solutions, parent company of Sealegs International.
