Invalidity · first instance · 2018-04-30
000010298
Contested design: 001431829-0006
Outcome
The invalidity applications are upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must bear the applicants' costs fixed at EUR 1,500 in total.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 001431829-0006 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, SLvia PDF extraction
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)
Article entitled 'Bunch O Balloons will revolutionize water fights' showing the product.
www.arstechnica.com · Ars Technica · disclosed 2014-07-27
European patent application for the same water-balloon filling product.
EP 3 005 948 A2 · European Patent Office · disclosed 2016-04-13
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicants argued that all essential features of the water-balloon filling design were solely dictated by technical function, relying on a web article and the holder's parallel patent application.
- ›The holder contended that the housing, straws, balloons, and bands also reflected aesthetic choices and that alternative forms and the patent wording did not prove purely technical design.
- ›The Division applied Article 8(1) CDR in light of DOCERAM and found no convincing evidence of creative design effort independent of the product's utilitarian purpose.
- ›It concluded that all essential features were chosen to perform the technical function, declared the contested RCD invalid, and awarded 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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