Invalidity · first instance · 2018-04-30
000010297
Contested design: 001431829-0009
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay costs fixed at EUR 1500 in total.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 001431829-0009 is declared invalid. 3. The holder bears the applicants’ costs, fixed at EUR 750 for each applicant, EUR 1500 in total.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €1,500
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Mystic Products Import & Export, SL
Spain (ES)
Carrer Guifre Nº 689, Badalona 08918, Spain
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Tinnus Enterprises, LLC
United States (US)
3429 18th Street, Plano, Texas, United States of America
Represented by
Prior art cited (2)
Ars Technica article 'Bunch O Balloons will revolutionize water fights'
www.arstechnica.com · Ars Technica · disclosed 2014-07-27
European patent application for the same fluid distribution equipment
EP 3 005 948 A2 · European patent application publication · disclosed 2016-04-13
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that every essential feature of the balloon-filling product was chosen solely for technical function, so the design was excluded under Article 8(1) CDR.
- ›The holder said the housing, straw arrangement, balloon sizing and rings reflected aesthetic choices producing a neat, simple and appealing appearance for a children’s product.
- ›The Division relied on DOCERAM and the surrounding evidence, including the parallel patent filing, and found no objective sign of independent design effort beyond the technical solution.
- ›It concluded that all essential features were solely dictated by technical function and declared the contested RCD invalid, with costs against the holder.
Deciding panel
- MemberGailė SAKALAITĖ
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberMichele M. BENEDETTI-ALOISI
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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