October 1, 2014
Is the appearance of an engine design copyrightable? This question was answered by the Court of Appeals in the case of TLA Corporation, et al. vs. Honda Motor Company Ltd. and the National Library (CA-G.R. CV No. 98777, Aug. 5, 2014).
Intellectual property owners sometimes seek copyright protection when its product designs fail to meet the requirements under trademark and patent laws. This legal experimentation led Honda Motor Company Ltd. (Honda) to seek copyright protection for its engine designs. Under Section 172 (h) of the Intellectual Property Code (IP Code), copyright protection is available for literary and artistic works that include “original ornamental design or models for articles of manufacture, whether or not registrable as an industrial design, and other works of applied art.” The National Library granted Honda several copyright registrations for its engine designs. Honda then took steps to enforce its rights by sending cease and desist letters to local distributors of other engine brand, who it believed copied the layout and color-scheme of its “copyrighted” engine designs. Instead of giving in to Honda’s demands, however, the local distributors banded together and filed a petition in the regional trial court seeking the cancellation of Honda’s copyright registrations. The distributors argued that Honda’s engine designs are not literary and artistic works, or works of applied art, which are entitled to copyright protection. In response, Honda argued that while some aspects of the engine’s designs are utilitarian and dictated by some scientific process, other aspects are purely artistic and should be considered works of art. Honda cited as an example the design feature that color-codes the various components of its general purpose engine. Honda also relied on the specifications of the general purpose engine, which were appended to its applications for copyright registrations to show that its designs had artistic value.
Continue reading…