Dunnes Stores is to appeal a High Court decision that it breached European regulations by copying a woman's shirt and top designed by a UK company.
Last month, Karen Millen won its High Court action against Dunnes over copying its designs. The case was back before the High Court yesterday for Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan to rule on costs and for Dunnes to account to Karen Millen for profits made on sales of the copy garments, which were sold through Dunnes' Savida range.
Richard Nesbitt SC, for Dunnes, said it was intended to appeal to the Supreme Court and to apply for an early hearing date. He asked that a stay be put in relation to taking an account of profits and also on the costs issue.
Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan agreed to the stay on the undertaking that the appeal would be expedited and she gave liberty to Brian O'Moore SC, for Karen Millen, to come back before her if this is not done.
She also adjourned two similar actions being taken by two other companies in the Karen Millen Group, Coast Ltd and Whistles Ltd, pending the outcome of the appeal.
She ruled that an issue raised in one of these separate cases could be considered as part of the appeal in the main Karen Millen case.
The judge also ordered that Dunnes deliver up any of the clothing items still in its possession within 10 weeks in accordance with her order last month.
The landmark Karen Millen case centred on the interpretation of a 2002 EU regulation in relation to protecting fashion designs.
It was taken against Dunnes by Karen Millen's UK parent company, Mosaic Fashions, which claimed Dunnes copied items of clothing and put them on sale after they were launched by the UK companies.
It was claimed Dunnes produced almost identical women's clothing to items produced by Karen Millen, thereby infringing design rights as protected by a new EU regulation from 2002 on unregistered community designs.
Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan ruled that Dunnes infringed Karen Millen's rights to unregistered community design under council regulation (EC) no 6/ 2002 in each of the three designs.