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ARTICLE · 17 DECEMBER 2025

Creativity You Can Use: CJEU Clarifies Copyright For Applied Art

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On 4 December 2025, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a landmark judgment in the joined cases C-580/23 (Mio v. Asplund) and C-795/23 (USM v. Konektra)...

European UnionIntellectual Property
Eline Van Bogget
Eline Van Bogget
Sari Depreeuw
Sari Depreeuw

On 4 December 2025, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) issued a landmark judgment in the joined cases C-580/23 (Mio v. Asplund) and C-795/23 (USM v. Konektra) concerning copyright protection for "works of applied art" (i.e., utilitarian objects such as tables, furniture, lighting fixtures, sofas, chairs, kitchen appliances, vases, and fashion items).

A. Background 

In a case before the Swedish courts, Galleri Mikael & Thomas Asplund AB (Asplund) designs and markets furniture, including dining tables from the "Palais Royal"-series. Mio Försäljning AB (Mio) operates a retail business selling, among other products, dining tables from its "Cord" series. Before the Swedish courts, Asplund claimed that the "Palais Royal" tables are protected by copyright as works of applied art and that Mio infringed its exclusive rights by manufacturing and selling similar tables. Mio disputed that the "Palais Royal"-tables were sufficiently original to qualify as copyright works,

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