Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2022-11-14
R0679/2021-3
Contested design: 005658507-0008
Outcome
The appeal is dismissed, and the design holder must bear the costs of the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text(de)
1. Die Beschwerde wird zurueckgewiesen. 2. Die Inhaberin traegt die Kosten des Nichtigkeits- und des Beschwerdeverfahrens.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Out of the blue KGvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Beim neuen Damm 28, 28865 Lilienthal, Deutschland
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
MYDO GmbHvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Osterfeldstraße 6, 22529 Hamburg, Deutschland
Prior art cited (3)
Green Maneki-neko figurine shown in a Diminuto Cielo Facebook post
facebook.com/diminutocieloshop/photos · Facebook · disclosed 2014-11-05
Light-green Maneki-neko figurine among multiple colour variants
Diminuto Cielo Facebook post · Facebook · disclosed 2015-02-28
Maneki-neko figurine shown on Instagram
Diminuto Cielo Instagram post · Instagram · disclosed 2015-03-10
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The design holder contested disclosure through social-media posts and argued that the stronger light-green tone, matt finish and rear details gave the contested figurine a different overall impression.
- ›The invalidity applicant relied on Diminuto Cielo's Facebook and Instagram disclosures and argued that the pale-green earlier cat D2 anticipated the same overall appearance.
- ›The Board found D2 properly disclosed before filing and held that the colour nuance, finish and minor rear-side differences did not alter the overall impression of the beckoning-cat figurines.
- ›The appeal was dismissed and the invalidation for lack of individual character was upheld.
Deciding panel
- ChairG. Humphreys
- RapporteurE. Fink
- MemberA. Pohlmann
- Registrarp.o. M. Chaleva
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| frfrançais (fr) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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