Hello everyone,
 

Here is an important update in the PANArt litigation, which we wanted to share with you all:

First of all, we have filed an appeal against the first instance decision of the Court of Berne in relation to (only) the question whether the “Hang” instruments enjoy copyright protection at all. Almost all of the parties from the handpan side have joined the appeal, which is now pending at the Federal Court of Switzerland, the “Bundesgericht”.

The very same Bundesgericht has handed down a decision just a few days ago, which is about a very similar subject matter. The question was about whether certain barbecue grills (called “Feuerring”) were copyright protected or not. The makers of the “Feuerring” were represented by the very same lawyers that PANArt is also using. In this decision, the Bundesgericht held that even if everyday objects (like barbecue grills or handpans) may be copyright protected, the threshold for copyright protection is so high that the scope of protection in any event is narrow. Please find the link to the original decision (from 11 September 2024) below, together with an English translation. The decisive passage in German reads:

In practical terms, this means that even if the Swiss courts should ultimately decide that the “Hang” instruments do enjoy copyright protection, the scope of protection of this copyright will most likely be very narrow. This means that most handpans who do not really look like a Hang will most likely fall outside the scope of a potential copyright. Our case will ultimately be decided by the same judges who also handed down the “Feuerring” decision.  

We think that this is great news, as it probably means that most handpans will ultimately be considered as being perfectly legal. This would then also mean that the instrument can most likely be built, traded and played without any relevant restrictions for all future. However, until that is decided, we will all have to continue the fight against PANArt and we will have to fund the litigation.

PANArt also recently sent out circular letters in which they suggested that “every handpan is a copy of the Hang”. This is not true, and the fact that PANArt’s lawyers sent that communication out on 17 September, i.e. 6 days after the Bundesgericht had clarified that works of applied art have a narrow scope of protection, makes that communication appear even more unfair and misleading. We are taking legal steps against PANArt in relation to their 17 September communication. If you have also received an email from them on or shortly after 17 September, please feel free to share it with us, as this might support our case. Please write to info@hcu.global.

Sincerely,

The HCU admin team


Links to the mentioned verdict of the Bundesgericht re “Feuerring”: 
Original German
Automatic English Translation