Invalidity · first instance · 2018-06-28
000010549
Contested design: 002538140-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay the applicant’s costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 002538140-0001 is declared invalid. The holder bears the applicant’s costs, fixed at EUR 750.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Eternit Österreich GmbH
Austria (AT)
Eternitstraße 34, 4840 Vöcklabruck, Austria
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
ETERNIT N.V.
Belgium (BE)
Kuiermansstraat 1, 1880 Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Belgium
Prior art cited (3)
Earlier Eternit facade/building panel design shown in German brochures and planning papers.
Eternit brochure and planning papers
RIEDER noise-reducing building panel design shown on page 39 of the Lärmschutz brochure.
RIEDER / www.rieder.at / web.archive.org · disclosed 2013-03-04
Earlier registered Community design for a similar building panel.
RCD No 002310201-0001 · EUIPO register
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character, and also argued the design was solely dictated by technical function.
- ›The holder said Equitone Linea had distinct proportions and a visible woolly fibrous texture, so the earlier designs did not create the same overall impression.
- ›The Division rejected the Article 8(1) objection because the applicant did not prove that technical function alone dictated the panel’s appearance.
- ›The Division accepted D1 as disclosed by 4 March 2013 and found the visible surface pattern created the same overall impression, so the RCD lacked individual character.
Deciding panel
- MemberMichele M. BENEDETTI-ALOISI
- MemberGailė SAKALAITĖ
- MemberBirgit FILTENBORG
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
Locarno classes
Similar decisions
Ranked by shared Locarno class + shared legal grounds + matching outcome. Click a case to view full detail.
| Case | Date | Outcome | Shared grounds | Locarno | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000129804 vs Mirosław Mytnik StudioDelta.pl | 2026-05-06 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000129781 vs SHANGHAI KENDA INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. | 2026-02-09 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000126955 vs Decora S.A. | 2026-01-29 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000129761 vs Shanghai Kenda Industrial Co.,Ltd. | 2025-11-13 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000127177 vs Hermanus Johannes Matheus Verdegaal | 2025-10-14 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000129361 vs Xiaoxia LI | 2025-10-09 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000129266 vs Taiyuan Jiuchangsheng Trading Co., Ltd. | 2025-10-07 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |
| 000124780 vs D.ELLINAS FACTORY PRODUCTS LTD | 2025-06-25 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 25 | 8 |