Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2020-05-28
R0911/2018-3
Contested design: 001435499-0001
Outcome
1. The appeal is dismissed. 2. The holder bears the costs of the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text(de)
1. Die Beschwerde wird zurückgewiesen. 2. Der Inhaber trägt die Kosten des Nichtigkeits- und des Beschwerdeverfahrens.
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)
Fußbodenschienen
Deutsches Design Nr. 40200327-0001 · Designblatt des Deutschen Patent- und Markenamts · disclosed 2002-06-25
Fußbodenschienen
Deutsches Design Nr. 40200327-0002 · Designblatt des Deutschen Patent- und Markenamts · disclosed 2002-06-25
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The design holder (appellant) argued that the Invalidity Division failed to account for manufacturing-constrained design freedom (stamping process), and that the informed user would perceive distinct differences in the cutout shapes — described as chalice-shaped ('S') vs. hexagonal ('K') — as well as differences in proportions and hole arrangements.
- ›The invalidity applicant (respondent) maintained that the contested decision correctly found the same overall impression, noting that asymmetric cutouts are technically feasible, and that the base profile is hidden after installation so differences there carry less weight.
- ›The Board found the designer's freedom to be average (not substantially constrained by manufacturing method) and confirmed that the two designs — sharing a straight boundary profile and a closed base profile with regularly arranged cutouts — produce the same overall impression on the informed user, with differences in cutout shapes and hole counts being too minor to be decisive.
- ›The appeal was dismissed and the holder ordered to bear costs of both the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
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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