The owner of a fashion boutique has told of her relief after defeating retail giant ZARA in a court battle over her branding.

Amber Kotrri was taken to court by the multi-billion pound high street store after it launched legal action against her Darlington-based firm, House of Zana.

The global brand, which has stores right across the UK, objected to Mrs Kotrri’s trademark application and the use of the name ‘House of Zana. It claimed it is “conceptually identical” to theirs and that the average customer will likely confuse the brand with that of ZARA.

But Mrs Kotrri highlighted how her independent local business is smaller and has a different ethos to one of the high streets most popular fast fashion brands.

Read more: Darlington's House of Zana wins court battle against ZARA

And the trademark ruling by Matthew Williams stated: “I am satisfied that the differences between the marks are sufficient to rule out the likelihood of direct confusion on the part of the average consumer.”

Yet at the end of the trademark hearing in May, legal representatives for ZARA asked to be awarded costs "at the very upper end of the scale", which left the Darlington businesswoman anxious over the effect it could have on her business.

The future of her independent boutique, which has a store on Grange Road alongside a large online following, was on the line with production of new clothing designs halted to preserve the company’s funds.  

Mrs Kotrri said: “There were some days where I was adamant that ZARA would win but once I went back through all the messages of support and saw all the people who signed the petition, I thought: ‘absolutely no way’.

“We design in advance and although we’ve been designing our autumn/ winter collection we’ve not been able to make anything because there was no point making it if this hadn’t gone in our favour.

“Finally, now I can give the go-ahead and make all the new pieces.”

The mother-of-two said receiving the tribunal result was as nerve wracking as opening her exam results at school - and spent more than a day plucking up the courage to open the email.

The Northern Echo: Amber Kotrri was taken to court by the multi-billion pound high street store after it launched legal action against her Darlington-based firm, House of ZanaAmber Kotrri was taken to court by the multi-billion pound high street store after it launched legal action against her Darlington-based firm, House of Zana

There are plans for a ‘trademark party’ to celebrate the trademark victory as well as a sale in-store this week.

“Everyone, including the people of Darlington, have been so supportive so I definitely want to do something to thank everyone,” Mrs Kotrri said.

Victory in the legal battle, the former Stockton Riverside College student says, shows that independent businesses can overcome threats from large retailers. Mrs Kotrri said she has been in contact with several other businesses around the world who have also been urged to rebrand their business or face closure.

To get more stories from Darlington direct to your email basket go here

Mrs Kotrri said: “There’s plenty other businesses going through the same situation I was in and I hope this outcome can give them the strength to realise that it is possible to win.

“A month ago I received another letter from ZARA’s lawyers reiterating again to close down and really threatening my business, but it was just another tactic to try and scare me. I know a lot of other businesses will be going through the same thing and hopefully this will give them hope to know that it is possible.

“I’m so glad that I’ve won for myself but also all the people who have supported me – it’s been incredible.”

Responding to the judgement, a spokeswoman for Inditex, the parent company of Zara, said: "While we do not wish to comment on the judgment itself, we continue to wish Ms Kotrri and her business success in the future."

Read next: 

​If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here