In Taiwan, there is a mild but long-established presumption
against treating industrial design as copyrightable. To qualify as
a copyrightable subject matter, an industrial design must pass an
aesthetic test (also known as an artistic work test); namely, it
must be proved to "contain artistic skills with which a
thought or feeling is conveyed."
At first sight, this test does not seem to disfavor luxury
handbags, as they are widely acknowledged by users as embodying the
designers' aesthetic sense and reflections through superior
artistry and craftsmanship. But judges are not as apt to accept
such views as bag connoisseurs.
In a recent decision rendered in an infringement lawsuit, a
second-instance panel (consisting of three judges) of the IP Court
held that three (if not three series of) Céline and/or
Givenchy handbag designs are not copyrightable. Under an implied
dichotomy of functionality and aesthetics, the panel found the bag
designs to be primarily functional
