Philips and Lidl have to go to court again for copyright infringement of razors

Supermarket chain Lidl could still be infringing on the health technology company's rights with a razor that resembles a Philips razor. The two companies have been fighting over the issue for years. Previously, judges had ruled against Philips. The company did not leave it at that and went to the Supreme Court. The highest court ruled that the case should be partially re-evaluated.

The case dates back to 2016. Since then, Lidl has sold a razor under the Silvercrest name that Philips said was too similar to its own razors. Among other things, the court ruled a few years ago that the Silvercrest was "not a slavish imitation" of Philips razors. This was because Lidl had done enough to avoid confusion among the public.

The Supreme Court agreed. However, the appeal against the court's decision that Philips had not sufficiently justified Lidl's infringement of its own copyright with the Silvercrest was successful. According to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal interpreted Philips' arguments on this point "too narrowly" and did not sufficiently substantiate its own judgment.

Now the case must be reassessed by another court. Then it could also be clarified whether Philips' so-called Arcitec is actually protected by copyright, the Supreme Court suggested. It would then also be important to see whether Philips is then entitled to this right. According to the Supreme Court, the court had left these questions unanswered.