The Provincial Court has fully ratified the infringement of intellectual property rights, also declaring the partial nullity of the registered utility model for lack of novelty. But the most novel aspect of the judgment lies in its explicit recognition of the moral damage caused to the creator.

In the first instance, although the infringements were recognized and compensation for material damages was established, the claim for moral damages and the imposition of costs had not been admitted. However, on appeal, the Provincial Court dismissed FMSL’s appeal in its entirety, with harsh reproaches to its defense for sustaining “indefensible” arguments.

The judgment is particularly striking because it expressly admits the existence of the moral damage caused to the creator when he suffered the betrayal of seeing his work disclosed and patented by third parties without his consent. The Court describes the defendants’ behavior as a true “felony” and a clear “betrayal”. Thus, the court appreciates a significant moral damage derived from the breach of trust and the disregard of FC’s creative and innovative merit.

As a result, the Court not only upheld the injunctions to cease and destruct the illicit material, but also increased the compensation, expressly recognizing the moral damage, setting it at the maximum requested, i.e., 40,000 euros, and additionally ordered the payment of the costs of the proceedings.