Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2023-06-30
R0856/2022-3
Contested design: 008147201-0001
Outcome
The appeal is dismissed and the design holder must bear the invalidity applicant's costs in the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text(it)
1. Il ricorso è respinto; 2. Le spese sostenute dalla richiedente nei procedimenti di nullità e di ricorso sono poste a carico della titolare.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
AUDI AGvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Auto-Union-Str. 1, 85057 Ingolstadt, Germania
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
G.M.P. Group s.r.l.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Luigi Galvani 8-12, 24061 Albano Sant'Alessandro (BG), Italia
Represented by
Giulio Bonadio
Prior art cited (1)
wheel rims for vehicles
RCD No 6 645 644-003 · Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2019-09-09
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The invalidity applicant sought invalidity of the wheel-rim RCD for lack of novelty and individual character over earlier RCD No 6 645 644-003.
- ›The design holder argued the earlier design was itself invalid, the sector was crowded and constrained, and the two rims still differed sufficiently for the informed user.
- ›The Board held publication of the earlier RCD was sufficient disclosure and that crowding and alleged invalidity of the earlier design did not prevent reliance on it.
- ›Comparing the contested design with the earlier rim, the Board found the common features dominated and the contested RCD lacked individual character, so the appeal was dismissed.
Deciding panel
- ChairG. Humphreys
- RapporteurC. Negro
- MemberS. Rizzo
- RegistrarR. Vidal Romero
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | human translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| esSpanish | human translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| frFrench | human translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| itItalian | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2322/2024-3 | 2025-05-21 | Decision confirmed | Art 6(1)(b), Art 5(2), Art 5(1)(b), Art 7(1) | — | 9 |
| R0054/2025-3 | 2025-09-18 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1), Art 5(2), Art 5(1)(b) | — | 7 |
| R2422/2022-3 | 2024-01-30 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1), Art 6(1)(b) | — | 7 |
| R0055/2022-3 | 2022-10-07 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1), Art 6(1)(b) | — | 7 |
| R0303/2021-3 | 2022-07-12 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1), Art 6(1)(b) | — | 7 |
| R1577/2016-3 | 2018-06-01 | Decision confirmed | Art 7(1), Art 6(1)(b) | — | 7 |
| R1434/2020-3 | 2021-06-25 | Decision annulled | Art 7(1), Art 6(1)(b) | — | 6 |
| R0931/2018-3 | 2019-07-25 | Decision annulled | Art 7(1), Art 5(1)(b) | — | 6 |