TV upcycler Max McMurdo was reported to have threatened legal action against upcycler Totes Adore over its copy of the Audrey Hepburn sofa bath. Karen Riley and Donna Feeney of Totes Adore transformed an old roll top bath found in a farmer's field into a stylish pink and white sofa, complete with Cath Kidston-style upholstery, reported the Northern Echo. The duo said they bought the bath, which was initially destined for the scrapheap, and restored it, after being inspired by Audrey Hepburn's bathtub sofa in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
 
However, television designer Max McMurdo, who has appeared on Dragons' Den and Kirstie Allsopp's Fill Your House For Free, threatened the pair with legal action if they continued to advertise it as he believed the bath was a direct copy of one of his designs. He claimed, reported the Echo, to have copyright and unregistered design rights on the sofa bath, which he has produced and sold for the past ten years through his upcycling business, reestore.
 
Before deciding to withdraw it, the duo's bathtub was due to be exhibited at Wayne Hemingway's Festival of Thrift in Darlington of which Mr McMurdo is a supporter.
 
George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn first sat on the original cast iron bath tub sofa on the set of a New York apartment in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1961. Over the years there have been other copies - especially during the 1960s - and more recently for example as the Savon Sofa, an antique clawfoot cast iron bath converted into a loveseat available in 2003 4ft to 6ft long, and one at the Salvo Fair in 2008. Max McMurdo's bath, captioned 'Max', first appeared on his website in 2007.

- - - - -
Note: Unregistered designs may still have rights. Design right automatically protects a design for 10 years after the design was first sold or 15 years after it was created - whichever is earliest. It can be used to stop someone copying a design. Design right only applies to the shape and configuration (how different parts of a design are arranged together) of objects. It is also possible to register a design for better protection provided it meets the eligibility criteria. It must be a registered design to protect two-dimensional designs such as graphics, textiles and wallpaper. Proof is needed of when a design was created if a design right is claimed. This could be copies of design drawings or photos kept with a bank or solicitor that has been sent by registered, dated post and kept unopened.