Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2025-07-11
R1464/2024-3
Contested design: 008752042-0001
Outcome
The Board annuls the contested decision, declares the contested REUD invalid, and orders the design holder to bear the costs of the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text
1. Annuls the contested decision. 2. Declares the contested REUD invalid. 3. Order the design holder to bear the costs incurred by the invalidity applicant in the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Selex Trading SAvia PDF extraction
Romania (RO)
Strada Barbu Văcărescu, Nr. 301-311 Birou Hdr31, Etaj 5, Mun București, Sector 2, Romania
Represented by
Viorel Ros
Holder · RCD owner
"СИ ЕН ДЖИ ТРАК БЪЛГАРИЯ" ООДvia PDF extraction
Bulgaria (BG)
бул."Руски" № 7, 4000 Пловдив, Bulgaria
Represented by
Rositsa Stoyanova
Prior art cited (10)
word mark UNIREA
Romanian trade mark No M 2001 04090 · TMView
figurative mark UNIREA băutură spirtoasă
Romanian trade mark No M 2010 01124 · TMView / IP Bulletin No 10/2010 · disclosed 2010-10-10
figurative mark UNIREA băutură spirtoasă
Romanian trade mark No M 2004 02817 · TMView
figurative mark UNIREA PREMIUM
Romanian trade mark No M 2004 02818 · TMView
cigarette packets [packaging]
REUD No 000010723-0001 · eSearch plus · disclosed 2004-11-30
cigar cases, cigarette cases, tobacco jars and pouches; boxes, cases, containers, tins or cans
REUD No 000149638-0001 · eSearch plus · disclosed 2004-06-01
packs for smokable articles, packaging, boxes [packaging]
REUD No 003856087-0016 · eSearch plus · disclosed 2019-10-15
prior design invoked for the first time on appeal
REUD No 001299531-0004 · eSearch plus
prior design invoked for the first time on appeal
REUD No 001269906-0001 · eSearch plus
prior design invoked for the first time on appeal
REUD No 000734686-0001 · eSearch plus
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The invalidity applicant appealed the rejection, maintaining lack of novelty and individual character and, chiefly, invalidity under Article 25(1)(e) based on Romanian UNIREA trade marks.
- ›The design holder filed no observations either before the Invalidity Division after resumption or in reply to the appeal.
- ›The Board admitted additional evidence only to clarify ownership and validity of earlier mark No M 2010 01124, but refused new reputation evidence and newly introduced prior designs on appeal.
- ›The Board found the contested cigarette-packet design reproduced the dominant element UNIREA of the earlier figurative mark and created a likelihood of confusion for complementary packaging services, so the design was invalidated.
Deciding panel
- ChairG. Humphreys Bacon
- RapporteurE. Fink
- MemberA. Pohlmann
- RegistrarK. Zajfert
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| deDeutsch (de) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| esespañol (es) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| frfrançais (fr) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| ititaliano (it) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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