Danish Brand Denies Theft Accusations

Yesterday, we reported on the case between the Icelandic design studio Flétta and the Danish brand Ferm Living. Studio Flétta has announced that its minute candleholder was knocked-off by Danish brand Ferm Living. Fréttablaðið got in touch with Ferm Living. The brand says the similarities are purely coincidental.

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Ferm Living media representative Malene Wallin Birkrem responded to Fréttablaðið’s inquiry saying: “We are incredibly saddened to receive these allegations. We faithfully protect the intellectual property rights of our designers, and it is fundamental for Ferm Living not to infringe on the rights of others. We put a lot of work into our designs, including extensive and detailed research into the relevant markets and any similar products, before launching a new design to ensure that we are not infringing on the intellectual property rights of third parties. We had no knowledge of the Minute candleholder prior to the development of our Dito candleholder, and this is the first time we’ve seen the Minute candleholder.”

Malene also claims that the Dito candleholder in single and double versions is the result of “independent creation and a detailed design process. Dito products started with a single Dito candleholder, which was handcrafted by our design director. Dito Candleholder Single was created at an event organized by Ferm Living where the designers worked with clay. The Dito candleholder was inspired by the famous classic candleholder called the “kammerstage”. It is the result of a design process where an ‘imperfect’ and unique clay sculpture became perfect,” she says.

“The Dito Candleholder Double was subsequently developed as a side product, drawing inspiration from ancient, two-armed candleholders. These two products were launched in the colour Dark Brown as part of our AW21 collection, with stoneware and glazes that we have previously used in our Berg ceramic sculpture launched in 2020,” says Malene.

“For SS22, indigo blue was the signature trend color, as seen in fashion as well, and we decided to launch it with a number of products in our collection, including the Dito candleholder. The indigo blue colour has been used in several different product categories, so the colour was not a specific choice for the Dito candle holder, but rather the result of design development.

“We are naturally saddened that Studio Flétta believes that its intellectual property rights have been infringed by us, and while we fully understand their desire to protect their intellectual property rights, we believe that our designs are unique and the result of independent creation, and that is sufficiently different from the Minute candleholder. We are always open to conversation and wish that Studio Flétta had contacted us directly. We have now contacted them regarding the issue,” finishes Malene.