The owner of a small boutique says she is over the moon after winning a battle with high street fashion giant Zara.
Amber Kotrri (married to an Albanian citizen), runs 'House of Zana', in Darlington, but was accused by 'Zara', with the claim that her business was "conceptually identical".
Zara had argued that there was a "high degree of visual and verbal similarity" between the two brands. But the court ultimately ruled that the link was 'totally irrelevant'.
Amber was overjoyed by the news, who said the judgment had weighed heavily on her shoulders.
" It has been more than a very stressful year in my life at home, as a mother of three small children, but also in business, as it took me hours to prepare evidence documents ," said Amber.
Kotrri said that he had received an email informing him of the court's decision when he was at the theater with his three children; but it took him several days to find the courage to open it.
" It was quite a long document and I couldn't understand much of it because of the stress... It was very stressful, but we won ," she added.
Kotrri started the business four years ago and was inspired by the Albanian word 'fairy' (a figure of Albanian folk beliefs who was imagined as a very beautiful girl who lived in the mountains and forests and who helped the brave with her extraordinary power) .
Zara's parent company is one of the world's largest fashion groups, with 6,477 stores, including Bershka, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti.
A Zara spokesperson said they did not want to comment on the judgement, but the company "continues to wish" Ms Kotrri and her business "success in the future".
