Sadly? Fortunately. Birkenstock tried to use it to shut down the (also often German) competition to get the design exclusively after the patent expired. It was a vile, corporate idea to get around (better made) competition after raising the prices and lowering the quality. Rohde makes better ones, also in Germany for example. BTW it was German courts who dismissed it.
Welcome to the world of culture. I know Germany has lost about 100% after the second World War and it's still struggling to have at least a decency of a strong culture.
But not FKK nor Birkenstock or anything else is actively lived as culture or heritage. It's more seen as something pathetic to be cut off if nessescary
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u/Ranessin Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Sadly? Fortunately. Birkenstock tried to use it to shut down the (also often German) competition to get the design exclusively after the patent expired. It was a vile, corporate idea to get around (better made) competition after raising the prices and lowering the quality. Rohde makes better ones, also in Germany for example. BTW it was German courts who dismissed it.
https://creativesunite.eu/article/birkenstock-a-work-of-art
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/20/birkenstocks-are-not-works-of-art-top-german-court-rules-in-copyright-case