Norm Engineering v Digga Australia

This is a decision of the Federal Court of Australia by Justice Greenwood, which was handed down on 18 May 2007.
In this case, the applicant claimed that the respondent had infringed copyright in drawings of parts of an assembled industrial bucket that was used with a machine commonly called a “Bobcat”.

The judgment gives details of the background to the action, of the applicant’s case (including of the evolution of the relevant drawings) and of the respondent’s contentions. The issues considered by the Court were: originality, conscious use and copying, reproduction of drawings (especially the respondent’s use of a three-dimensional article to produce drawings), the relationship between an artistic work and a corresponding design  both in terms of the pre 17 June 2004 position and the position after that date, and damages.

The Court found that there had been copyright infringement. Total damages of $61,223 were awarded for infringement, and there was an award of additional damages of $19,450. Declarations, an injunction, and an order for delivery up, were also made.

Norm Engineering v Digga Australia [2007] FCA 761 (18 May 2007)

The decision is available from here.

A subsequent decision on costs and interest on damages is available from here.