Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2024-04-15
R2028/2023-3
Contested design: 000920525-0001
Outcome
The appeal is dismissed, and the invalidity applicant is ordered to bear the costs and fees incurred by the design holder in the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text(it)
1. Respinge il ricorso. 2. Ordina alla richiedente la nullità di sopportare le spese e le tasse sostenute dalla titolare del disegno o modello nei procedimenti di nullità e di ricorso.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Castello S.r.l.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Sammichele 30, 70010 Turi (BA), Italia
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Società generale delle Acque minerali S.p.A.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Salandra 1/A, 00187 Roma, Italia
Represented by
Prior art cited (9)
UK three-dimensional figurative trademark for a bottle
UK 00 002 018 684 · UK Trade Marks Bulletin No. 6104 · disclosed 1995-12-06
EU three-dimensional figurative trademark for a bottle
EU trade mark No. 2 006 781 · EU Trade Marks Bulletin · disclosed 2002-07-12
Uliveto water bottle shown in the Crovella thesis
LUISS Guido Carli thesis 'Acque minerali: branding, mercato e comunicazione'
Lete water bottle
Beverfood Edizioni annual directory 'Acque Minerali e di Sorgente Italia'
Levissima water bottle
Beverfood Edizioni annual directory 'Acque Minerali e di Sorgente Italia'
Santa Croce sparkling water bottle
www.beverfood.com · Beverfood article 'Nuovo Look per l’acqua Santa Croce frizzante' · disclosed 2006-08-31
Ferrarelle water bottle
www.beverfood.com · Beverfood article 'Ferrarelle lancia una nuova bottiglia pet a forma di ampolla' · disclosed 2007-07-18
Lilia water bottle
www.beverfood.com · Beverfood article 'L’acqua Lilia delle fonti del Vulture va ora in lancio nazionale con Coca-Cola Italia' · disclosed 2007-05-08
registered Community design for a bottle
RCD No. 000 866 207-0002 · Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2008-01-25
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The invalidity applicant appealed, arguing that the contested bottle created the same overall impression as prior model D7 and therefore lacked novelty and individual character.
- ›The holder replied that the cited similarities were minor and that the ribs, label area, and base features gave the contested design a distinct overall impression.
- ›The Board admitted Annex 4 as supplemental evidence for D7 but rejected Annex 5 as irrelevant because the registered design representations were already clear.
- ›The Board found broad design freedom for water bottles, treated the hourglass form as common and partly functional, and considered the visible differences readily noticeable.
- ›The appeal was dismissed; the contested RCD was held novel and to have individual character, and the invalidity applicant was ordered to bear the holder's costs.
Deciding panel
- ChairS. Stürmann
- RapporteurC. Negro
- MemberS. Rizzo
- RegistrarE. Wagner
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| esespañol (es) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| frfrançais (fr) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| itItalian | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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