Swarbrick successfully defends JS 9000 design

by John Roberson / IBI Magazine on 10 Jan 2004 Western Australian naval architect John Swarbrick has successfully had an injunction upheld against an unauthorised builder of his JS 9000 sportsboat, preventing it from producing the boat.

The West Australian newspaper reported, 'Mr Swarbrick started the legal action in September, after he located a Pinjarra factory containing a JS 9000 yacht and moulds.'

'He went to court armed with a set of photographs taken in the factory. The court granted a temporary injuction locking the factory.'

Since then, the injuction has been successfully upheld and the company, Boldgold Investments, ordered to put the disputed boat and moulds into a locked container in Fremantle, before they may re-open their factory.

John Swarbrick told the court he was worried that Boldgold Investments would take the moulds overseas, and start producing and marketing the boats where it was harder for him to protect his design copyright.

The company claimed the yacht was not covered by copyright, and had hired as subcontractors two of Swarbrick's former employees to build the boats.

Justice Carr, who heard the case, considered that it was strongly arguable that the original handcrafted model of the yacht, and the yacht itself were works of artistic craftsmanship.

'They are items with considerable aesthetic quality comparable, for example, to a sculpture of artistic merit.'

The JS 9000 is enjoying some success in the European market, having been shown at major boatshows including Southampton and Dusseldorf.

The boat is built by John Swarbrick's own company, Swarbrick Yachts International.

John Swarbrick is best known for his involvement with Iain Murray in the design of the 1987 America's Cup defence series of Kookaburra 12 Metres, and for designing one of Chris Dickson's Tokio Whitbread 60s, with a radical Z shaped keel.