Sarah Lund’s knit jumper is not only one of the most recognizable stars of The Killing (Forbrydelsen), it’s also the star of its own recently-concluded legal battle. 

 

A Horsens court on Thursday ruled that the Danish knitwear company Stof og Sy can continue selling jumpers that resemble those from the popular television programme. 

 

The Faroese designers Gudrun & Gudrun had argued that the Danish company’s jumpers violated copyright laws by replicating their design for jumpers, including the star-patterned one Gudrun & Gudrun designed for actress Sofie Gråbøl to wear as she solved crimes. 

 

But Lene Langballe of Stof og Sy successfully convinced the court that the star pattern is actually hundreds of years old. The court ruled that Langballe did not violate copyright or marketing laws and acquitted her on all charges. 

 

Gudrun Rógvadóttir, the owner of Gudrun & Gudrun, said she was both shocked and disappointed by the court’s ruling and said Stog of Sy’s version was “a pure copy” of her original design. 

 

“This is about our – and our employees’ – livelihood and respect for the work that went into the jumpers,” she told DR. “We haven’t decided if we will take further steps in the matter.”

 

If you have 2,887.50 kroner ($524) to spare, you can buy your own Sarah Lund jumper from Gudrun and Gudrun. Or, following the court’s ruling, you can legally and with a clear conscience buy Stof og Sy’s version for 372 kroner ($67).