komenda heir sues Porsche

[haul]

http://m.spiegel.de/auto/aktuell/por...a-1204565.html

Who is responsible for the world-famous design of the Porsche 911? About it advises since Tuesday the regional court Stuttgart. The daughter of former chief designer Erwin Komenda, Ingrid Steineck, demands that the copyright for the design of the famous sports car and its predecessor model 356 be attributed to her father and has therefore sued Porsche.


The car maker denied before the district court on Tuesday that Komenda was mainly responsible for the appearance of the 911. The first designs for the Porsche sports cars would not come from Komenda. The group attributes the design of the sports cars to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, a grandson of company founder Ferdinand Porsche. The car lawyer's lawyer initially rejected a comparison saying that Komenda's share of the sports car had already been sufficiently appreciated.

It is up to 20 million euros

The court has to clarify several questions in the case: How much of the Porsche 356 is in the Porsche 911? Are the two Porsche models an above-average design achievement? Is the "Ur-911er" still recognizable in today's models? And above all, who is primarily responsible for the design of both cars?

The decision could clarify the fundamental question of whether car designers have a copyright claim on the models they create. The lawsuit could ultimately end up in the Federal Court of Justice. In this specific case, it is also a Nachzahlungsanspruch the family Steineck of up to 20 million euros. The court will decide by June 7 whether to go to the evidence or dismiss the lawsuit.

[haul]

http://m.manager-magazin.de/unterneh...a-1220325.html


The daughter of the former Porsche chief designer has failed with a million-plus suit against the automaker for the design of the legendary 911 sports car. The Stuttgart district court dismissed the lawsuit on Thursday, in which the plaintiff Ingrid Steineck of Porsche demanded a fairness compensation in the amount of 20 million euros - quasi a reimbursement for the great success of the sports car in the past seven decades.

The daughter of the former Porsche chief designer Erwin Komenda demanded that the copyright on the 911 and the predecessor model 356 be subsequently assigned to her father. Porsche, however, attributes the design of the sports cars significantly to the descendants of company founder Ferdinand Porsche. The applicant's lawyers now want to await the written judgment in order to decide whether to appeal against the decision.

[Unobtanium-inc]

As a paid employee wouldn't everything be the property of his employer, Porsche. That would be like the post-it note guy suing 3M.

Adam

[dirk07]

Adam, you are right.
As a paid employee nearly everything will be the property of his employer, in this case Porsche.
It will be your property if your employer will release your invention/design.
But if your employer claims your invention and makes profit out of it, he will have to pay you for your part that makes/increases the profit or the unique selling point that brings the success of a product.
Inventor compensation is a basic German IP right.

So the court had to decide in this case if Komenda is the inventor/designer and if the DNA of this invention/DNA was still in cars 25 years after the design was filled and if this invention/design was an unique selling point to sell 911 and make profit.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Adam, you are right.
As a paid employee nearly everything will be the property of his employer, in this case Porsche.
It will be your property if your employer will release your invention/design.
But if your employer claims your invention and makes profit out of it, he will have to pay you for your part that makes/increases the profit or the unique selling point that brings the success of a product.
Inventor compensation is a basic German IP right.

So the court had to decide in this case if Komenda is the inventor/designer and if the DNA of this invention/DNA was still in cars 25 years after the design was filled and if this invention/design was an unique selling point to sell 911 and make profit.

I do remember from interviewing the daughter that the family was very proud of his work. It will be interesting to see where this case goes.

---Adam

[LongRanger]

. . . other threads . . .
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...Komenda-family
http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ho-designed-it




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