The Maritime and Commercial High Court in Denmark has banned Sharp from selling its Sumobox portable speaker in the country following a lawsuit filed by Danish company Soundboks. Soundboks, a manufacturer of battery-powered party speakers, argued that Sharp’s marketing of the Sumobox violated the Marketing Practices Act, a claim the court upheld.

The court’s decision prohibits Sharp from marketing, selling, and exporting the Sumobox to Denmark and mandates the recall of all existing Sumobox products from Danish retailers. Soundboks’ CEO, Jesper Theil Thomsen, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, emphasizing its significance in preventing multinational corporations from replicating original Danish designs without facing repercussions.

The Maritime and Commercial High Court highlighted that Soundboks essentially pioneered the market for portable, durable, powerful, and battery-powered party speakers in Denmark, thereby establishing a new sub-market for speakers within the country.

Soundboks had also accused Sharp of copyright infringement, pointing to similarities in design elements such as the round rubber balls on the corners of the speaker and the grille, as well as the packaging design. However, the court did not find sufficient grounds to support Soundboks’ claim of copyright infringement regarding the speaker’s design. The lawsuit concerned design elements and not the technical construction of the speaker.

Soundboks was established a decade ago by three high school classmates seeking a portable, battery-powered speaker for the Roskilde Festival. The company’s speakers are now sold in 40 countries, with over 250,000 units sold worldwide. Sharp, a Japanese electronics company with over 46,000 employees globally, has been in operation for over a century.