Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2020-05-28
R0906/2018-3
Contested design: 001435499-0007
Outcome
The contested decision is set aside, RCD No. 1435499-0007 is declared invalid, and the holder must bear the costs of the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text(de)
1. Die angefochtene Entscheidung wird aufgehoben. 2. Das eingetragene Gemeinschaftsgeschmacksmuster Nr. 1435499-0007 wird für nichtig erklärt. 3. Der Inhaber trägt die Kosten des Nichtigkeits- und des Beschwerde- verfahrens.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Küberit Profile Systems GmbH & Co. KGvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Römerweg 9, 58513 Lüdenscheid, Deutschland
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Georg Sondermannvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Biggeseestr. 20a, 57489 Drolshagen, Deutschland
Represented by
Prior art cited (2)
floor rails / floor transition strip
German design No. 40200327-0001 · German Patent and Trade Mark Office Designblatt · disclosed 2002-06-25
floor rails / floor transition strip
German design No. 40200327-0002 · German Patent and Trade Mark Office Designblatt · disclosed 2002-06-25
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The invalidity applicant argued that the contested floor-profile design lacked novelty and individual character, that only the visible curved top matters after installation, and that D1 and D2 anticipate the appearance.
- ›The holder argued that the curved border profile, visible 'Sondro-S' base perforations and alternative uses where the base remains visible create a different overall impression.
- ›The Board excluded newly introduced product lines from the appeal, compared the contested RCD with D1 and found the differences in the curved edge, hole arrangement and perforation details too slight to matter for the informed user.
- ›The Board held that D1 destroyed individual character, so it set aside the first-instance decision and declared the contested RCD invalid; the holder bears the costs.
Deciding panel
- ChairTh. M. Margellos
- RapporteurE. Fink
- MemberC. Rusconi
- RegistrarH. Dijkema
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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