Are Truck Body Designs Protected By Copyright?

In Man Power Motors Co Ltd v Tai Ping Motor Trading Co Ltd and Another[2025] HKCFI 1593,the Hong Kong Court of First Instance held that the Plaintiff's copyright over component parts of truck body was infringed when a substantial similar design truck body was sold in the market.

Background

This is a claim for copyright infringement with respect to the design of the component parts of aluminium trunk body, which involved concept drawings, mould drawings and production drawings.

The Plaintiff is a company which carries on business in developing, designing, manufacturing and supplying high-quality aluminium truck bodies. The Plaintiff is and was at all material times, the owner of copyright subsisting in the original artistic works relating to the design of component parts of the aluminium truck body (the "Copyright Works").