Invalidity · first instance · 2018-04-30
000010302
Contested design: 001431829-0008
Outcome
The invalidity applications are upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay the applicants' costs fixed at EUR 750 for each applicant, EUR 1,500 in total.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 001431829-0008 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)
Ars Technica article “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 application publication · disclosed 2016-04-13
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicants argued that the contested water-balloon filling design was excluded under Article 8(1) because all essential features were chosen solely to achieve its technical function.
- ›The holder responded that the housing, straws, balloons, and bands reflected aesthetic choices and that alternative forms and the patent wording did not prove purely technical design.
- ›The Division found the product's essential features matched its utilitarian function, showed no proven creative design effort, and the patent materials and product context supported that conclusion.
- ›The invalidity applications were upheld, the contested RCD was declared invalid in full, and the holder was ordered to pay both applicants' costs.
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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