Japan Supreme Court Rules Tripp Trapp Chair Not Copyrightable

On April 24, 2026, the Supreme Court of Japan ruled that the iconic Tripp Trapp children's chair, designed by Peter Opsvik and produced by Norwegian company Stokke, is not protected by copyright. The court rejected the claim by Stokke that the chair's design—featuring two L-shaped legs angled at 66 degrees and parallel seat and footrest—constituted a creative expression separable from its function. The decision hinged on Article 2, paragraph 1, no. 1 of Japan's Copyright Law, which defines works as creative expressions of thoughts or feelings. The court held that mass-produced industrial products cannot automatically qualify for copyright protection merely because their form is creative; doing so would undermine the registered design system, which offers 25 years of protection. The Tripp Trapp, with over 14 million units sold worldwide, remains a functional chair for the court, not an artistic work. The ruling parallels debates in Italy and elsewhere about the boundary between design and art.