Dyson wins libel case and donates money
Sir James Dyson, the billionaire inventor, and his wife have won a libel case against Associated Newspapers Limited and donated the money to a research charity.
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
The Daily Mail, a newspaper published by Associated Newspapers Limited, have paid out a sum of £100,000 to Sir James Dyson after running an article that was false and harmful to the reputation of Dyson and his company. The money was promptly donated to a charity researching rare skin conditions by the billionaire couple.
Sir James Dyson is the founder Dyson Ltd and inventor of Dyson Vacuum cleaners. His most noteworthy invention in the industry is the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner that uses cyclonic separation technology to avoid vacuums becoming clogged. As well as topping the Sunday Times rich list, he is also the founder of a University for engineering and technology.
Dyson began his career as an inventor at The Royal College of Art where he helped design and develop the Sea Truck. But it was his idea for a ‘ballbarrow’ that really took off. The invention replaced a standard wheel on a wheelbarrow with a ball giving it additional range and motion. The product was featured on Tomorrow’s World, a popular BBC programme of the time. The success of the ballbarrow prompted other ideas for Dyson including the ‘wheelboat’ and the ‘trollyball’.
Then, in the late 1970, Sir James Dyson encountered a problem. Using his Hoover to vacuum the carpets he became frustrated with its lack of suction. The product used dust bags which frequently clogged up. The clogging caused the product to lose its suction frustrating the user and causing inefficiency. As an inventor, Sir James Dyson had a natural tendency to solve the problem.
It was around this time he developed his renewed cyclonic separation technology that does not lose suction as it picks up dirt. Dyson got the idea for cyclonic separation from sawmills and was supported by his wife Lady Dierdrie Dyson to develop the product. At the time Lady Dyson worked as an art teacher, she believed in the vision her husband had and backed him with her salary.
Finally, in 1983, after 15 years and around 5000 prototypes, the first Dyson vacuum cleaner was ready to launch. It was the first ever bagless vacuum cleaner to go to market. This should have been a revelation but instead it posed a problem. There were barriers to entry in Europe as the market for vacuum bags was too profitable. So Dyson took his innovative product to Japan.
The rest is history. Dyson vacuum cleaners soon took off and the new technology was patented. Lady Dyson’s belief and support also paid off and the couple’s personal wealth began to grow. Now in 2021, Schillings statement in open court on behalf of Sir James and Lady Dyson has led to victory in the courts against the slanderous newspaper. Despite the award of defamation money, Sir James Dyson and Lady Deirdre Dyson saw little need to keep it for themselves.
Instead, they decided to donate it to Cure EB, a charity funding research into a cure for and treatment of the debilitating skin condition Epidermolysis Bullosa. They have also decided to accept an apology from The Daily Mail after it admitted the articles published were “false and damaging.”
