Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2019-11-21
R0070/2019-3
Contested design: 002457341-0001
Outcome
The appeal is upheld; the contested decision is annulled; RCD No 2 457 341-0001 is declared invalid; the design holder bears the invalidity applicant's costs.
Show verbatim operative text
Annuls the contested decision; Declares the Registered Community Design No 2 457 341-0001 invalid; Orders that the design holder bear the invalidity applicant's costs in the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
4-Shisha GmbHvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Im Hesselbruch 2, 45356 Essen, Germany
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
nextro GmbHvia PDF extraction
Austria (AT)
Bahnhof-Umgebung 17a, 6170 Zirl, Austria
Prior art cited (3)
AK-47 shaped hookah published on Facebook by Illuziah Hookah
Facebook (Illuziah Hookah page) · disclosed 2013-12-08
AK-47 shaped hookah exhibited by 'Illuzia' at the Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo, Las Vegas
Tobacco Plus Convenience Expo (TPC), Las Vegas, January 2014 · disclosed 2014-01-30
Kalashnikov rifle (AK-47) — Wikipedia and YouTube video extract
Wikipedia / YouTube · disclosed 2008-03-08
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The invalidity applicant (appellant) argued that prior design D2 (AK-47 shaped hookah) was publicly exhibited at the TPC trade fair in Las Vegas in January 2014, producing the same overall impression as the contested RCD, relying on photographs, flight booking records, passport stamps and two affidavits.
- ›The design holder argued the Facebook screenshots were unreliable, that D3 (Kalashnikov rifle) was inadmissibly late, and that MOB Hookah (previous owner) had disclosed the contested RCD in November 2013 within the Article 7(2) CDR grace period so there was no relevant prior art.
- ›The Board found the combined evidence (photographs, travel documents, passport stamps, affidavits) proved D2 was exhibited at the TPC in January 2014; rejected the design holder's grace-period claim as unproven; found D2 and the RCD not identical (novelty survived) but producing the same overall impression on the informed user (AK-47 rifle stem shape dominant), so individual character was lacking.
- ›The appeal was upheld; the RCD declared invalid under Article 6 CDR; the design holder ordered to bear all costs.
Deciding panel
- ChairTh. M. Margellos
- RapporteurM. Bra
- MemberG. Humphreys
- RegistrarM. Chaleva
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| deDeutsch (de) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| esespañol (es) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| frfrançais (fr) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| ititaliano (it) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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