Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2022-11-14
R0680/2021-3
Contested design: 005658507-0009
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
Silver 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 disputed disclosure and argued that the contested figurine's darker metallic tone, different collar and rear details distinguished it from the earlier silver cat.
- ›The invalidity applicant maintained that the earlier silver Maneki-neko shown in D2 had been publicly disclosed and conveyed the same overall impression.
- ›The Board held that D2 was available to the public before filing and that the metallic colour variation, collar differences, rear details and base plate did not change the almost identical overall impression.
- ›The appeal was dismissed and the invalidation for lack of individual character was confirmed.
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 ↗ |
Similar decisions
Ranked by shared Locarno class + shared legal grounds + matching outcome. Click a case to view full detail.
| Case | Date | Outcome | Shared grounds | Locarno | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R0499/2023-3 | 2024-03-04 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R2422/2022-3 | 2024-01-30 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R0856/2022-3 | 2023-06-30 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R1562/2022-3 | 2023-05-31 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R1103/2022-3 | 2023-02-15 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R0676/2021-3 | 2022-11-14 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R0678/2021-3 | 2022-11-14 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |
| R0679/2021-3 | 2022-11-14 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1) | — | 5 |