Ferrari is not known to muck about when it comes to copyright infringement. In fact, Ferrari will even send cease & desist letters to its own customers if it doesn't like what they do with their cars. As a very traditional brand, you can imagine that the Italian marque isn't too impressed when a customer chooses to modify a Ferrari, but some infractions are worse than others. Back in 2016, we covered a Mansory body kit called the 4XX Siracusa, with the name and many of the design elements being clearly inspired by those of the Ferrari FXX-K. Created for the Ferrari 488 GTB, the kit was very offensive to the people in Maranello, who felt that their design had been blatantly ripped off. Five years on from the kit's reveal, Ferrari has been vindicated in court, winning its case against Mansory.

Ferrari took the matter to a German court since that is where Mansory is based, with its main focus of appeal being the V-shaped hood section and front bumper of the tuner's body kit. These design details are specific to the FXX-K, and Ferrari feels that these elements "distinguished the Ferrari FXX-K from other cars." With Mansory copying these design traits on a six-figure mid-range sports car like the 488, Ferrari feels that the FXX-K, a multi-million dollar car, becomes less special, less exclusive. The German court could not come to a ruling and requested the intervention of the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The CJEU ruled that a component could be considered to be an individual part with design rights, albeit unregistered designs, if it is "a visible section of the product or complex product, clearly defined by particular lines, contours, colors, shapes, or texture." The news comes via Reuters but the outlet did not mention how much Mansory will be paying in damages or if another sort of agreement will be made whereby Mansory will simply have to agree to stop building the kits. Nevertheless, this case has far-reaching implications, with the ruling setting a precedent on designs that are not registered but are clearly the work of a particular firm. Knock-off watches, handbags, and more could soon become far less viable for companies to make, and other tuners could get into trouble for similar infractions. With Mansory's tendencies to step on toes with offensive designs, we wouldn't be surprised if the firm does it again. An SF90 styling package is already on the way.