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Michael Ritscher
Stefan Schröter
Timmy Pielmeier
On 2 July 2024 the Commercial Court of Bern (Switzerland) rendered, to the best of our knowledge, the first court decision in the world, confirming copyright on the design of a music instrument – under Swiss, German and Dutch law.
Around 20 years ago, the two artists and musicians Sabina Schärer and Felix Rohner, inspired by the steelpan tradition from Trinidad, created a completely new instrument, which they called HANG (Bernese dialect for “hand”) because it can be played with the hands. Following initial prototypes, they produced the version shown below in their family business, PANArt Hangbau AG, and sold it from there directly and worldwide.
The great success of this sound sculpture led to third parties starting to produce copies of the HANG and selling them under the designation “Handpan”. To defend their intellectual property rights to the (undisputed) original against this misuse and out of the conviction that other instrument makers should develop independent works and not freeride on others, the authors began to legal action against particularly aggressive providers in Switzerland, in Germany and in the Netherlands.
In October 2020, a group of 25 manufacturers and dealers, calling themselves “Handpan Community United (HCU)” and represented by two large law firms, filed a lawsuit with the Commercial Court of the Canton of Bern (Switzerland) seeking a declaration that the HANG is not protected by copyright or, in the alternative, that their instruments do not infringe the scope of protection of the HANG. The authors and PANArt Hangbau AG were represented by MLL Legal.
After a two-day hearing in the fall of 2023 and based on extensive submissions by the parties and by three experts consulted by them, the Bern court, on 2 July 2024, ruled in a 96-page and not yet final judgment that the HANG enjoys copyright protection in Switzerland, in Germany and in the Netherlands.
For further information consult Home | PANArt Hang Manufacturing Ltd..
