Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2021-02-26
R0859/2020-3
Contested design: 002701359-0001
Outcome
The appeal is dismissed and the design holder must bear the invalidity applicant's costs and fees.
Show verbatim operative text
1. Dismisses the appeal; 2. Orders the design holder to bear the costs and fees incurred by the invalidity applicant.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
André Walentavia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Chiemgaustraße 136, 81549 Mänchen, Germany
Represented by
Nadine Friese
Holder · RCD owner
Baldag Raduvia PDF extraction
Romania (RO)
Str.Fagetului, Nr.20-C, Oradea, Romania
Represented by
Prior art cited (4)
Wikipedia article 'Mouthguard' with illustrative image
Wikipedia
mouthguard image from Journal of the American Dental Association article
JADA Vol. 132, July 2001 · Journal of the American Dental Association · disclosed 2001-07-01
mouthguard image from Journal of the American Dental Association article
JADA Vol. 132, July 2001 · Journal of the American Dental Association · disclosed 2001-07-01
mouthguard image from Journal of the American Dental Association article
JADA Vol. 132, July 2001 · Journal of the American Dental Association · disclosed 2001-07-01
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The design holder appealed the invalidation of its mouthguard design, arguing that the Wikipedia evidence was unreliable and that the contested design differed from the earlier mouthguard images in the JADA article.
- ›The invalidity applicant did not file observations in reply to the appeal.
- ›The Board held that the Invalidity Division had used the wrong JADA image as its comparison point, but after carrying out a fresh assessment it found prior design D2 produced the same overall impression as the contested RCD given the limited design freedom for mouthguards and the minor nature of the differences.
- ›The appeal was dismissed; the contested RCD remained invalid for lack of individual character and the design holder was ordered to bear costs and fees.
Deciding panel
- ChairTh. M. Margellos
- RapporteurH. Salmi
- MemberC. Negro
- Registrarp.o. APAOLAZA ALM,Eva
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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