H&M Gets Fabric Design Copyright Infringement Verdict Overturned

H&M Hennes & Mauritz LP convinced the Ninth Circuit Friday that questions about a copyright registration’s validity required reversal of a verdict against it for using an allegedly infringing design on its jackets and skirts.

The appeals court sent the case back for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to determine whether Unicolors Inc. owned a valid registration for the copyright.

Unicolors Inc. alleged that a design it created in 2011 was “remarkably similar” to a design printed on H&M clothing starting in 2015. A federal jury found H&M infringed, and the court awarded Unicolors nearly ...