Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2022-11-14
R0683/2021-3
Contested design: 005658507-0012
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
Black 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 public disclosure and argued that collar execution and rear details set the contested black figurine apart from the earlier material.
- ›The invalidity applicant relied on Diminuto Cielo's social-media posts and argued that the earlier black cat D2 produced the same overall impression.
- ›The Board held that D2 had been disclosed before filing and that the different collar treatment, rear features and base detail did not alter the nearly identical overall appearance of the figurines.
- ›The appeal was dismissed and the invalidation for lack of individual character was maintained.
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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