Facts
Ms. [E.] has been manufacturing a range of 19 different decorative dolls since 1979. In 1981, Ms. W. exhibited similar dolls under the name "Harlequin" and also gave courses on how to make them. Ms. [E.] then filed a complaint for copyright infringement (CopA) and violation of the Unfair Competition Act (UCA).Considerations
The Federal Tribunal considers that Ms. E.'s dolls do not constitute works of applied art protected by copyright. Although they exhibit a certain level of craftsmanship, they do not have the character of an original and personal intellectual creation of the author, as they reproduce widely known and used elements of form and appearance (sad face, clown clothes, disheveled hair, etc.) to represent harlequin characters. The Federal Tribunal considers that these dolls do not exceed the level of simple models and therefore do not benefit from copyright protection.
Furthermore, the Federal Tribunal considers that these dolls cannot be protected by the Unfair Competition Act (Art. 13 let. d UCA)…