Invalidity appeal · Board of Appeal · 2025-12-04
R1481/2024-3
Contested design: 008037261-0003
Outcome
The appeal is dismissed, and the invalidity applicant must bear the design holder’s costs in the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
Show verbatim operative text
1. Dismisses the appeal. 2. Orders the invalidity applicant to bear the costs incurred by the design holder in the invalidity and appeal proceedings.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Gyula Szivosvia PDF extraction
Hungary (HU)
Bercsényi utca 6., 5340 Kunhegyes, Hungary
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Nándor SZŐNYIvia PDF extraction
SK
UL.E.B. LUKÁCA 1356/36, 94501 Komárno, Slovakia
Represented by
Prior art cited (4)
grass grid/slab with circular openings
Facebook posts dated 2019-10-09 and 2019-11-19 · Facebook / Technoah BV · disclosed 2019-10-09
grass grid with circular openings and half-moon-shaped connector
Facebook post dated 2019-07-30 · Facebook / Danny Coert Ko Stanthardt · disclosed 2019-07-30
green grass grid with circular openings
Facebook post dated 2019-12-14 · Facebook / Ko Stanthardt · disclosed 2019-12-14
grass grid/slab with circular openings
Facebook posts dated 2019-10-13, 2019-11-08 and 2019-11-23 · Facebook / 't Faan and Jelte Bosma · disclosed 2019-10-13
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The invalidity applicant argued that D1 to D4 disclosed the same slab design before filing and that the contested design lacked novelty and individual character.
- ›The design holder argued that the 2019 disclosures resulted from abuse by former business partners who had access to its earlier 2012-2013 drawings, so Article 7(3) applied.
- ›The Board accepted disclosure of D1 to D4 but found the overall evidence showed those designs were based on the holder’s earlier drawings and fell within the Article 7(3) abuse exception.
- ›Because the prior designs could not be taken into account for novelty or individual character, the invalidity application remained unfounded and the appeal was dismissed.
Deciding panel
- ChairG. Humphreys Bacon
- RapporteurG. Humphreys Bacon
- MemberC. Negro
- MemberA. Pohlmann
- RegistrarK. Zajfert
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| frFrench | human translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deDeutsch (de) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| esespañol (es) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| ititaliano (it) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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