Invalidity · first instance · 2018-07-05
000010491
Contested design: 002211920-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must bear the applicant's costs fixed at EUR 350.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 002211920-0001 is declared invalid. The holder bears the applicant’s costs, fixed at EUR 350.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €350
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
2B2M PassePasse SARL
France (FR)
66 rue hermel, 75018, Paris, France
Holder · RCD owner
Oddballs International Ltdvia PDF extraction
United Kingdom (GB)
30 Cliff Road, Harwich, Essex, CO12 3PP, United Kingdom
Represented by
Nathan Brown
Prior art cited (1)
Sundia Shining diabolo shown on archived product webpages
http://www.oddballs.co.uk/; http://www.goudurix.com/ (Internet Archive screenshots) · oddballs.co.uk and goudurix.com via Internet Archive · disclosed 2009-12-19
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that the contested diabolo design lacked novelty and individual character because the same Sundia Shining diabolo had been publicly disclosed online before the filing date.
- ›The holder replied that the RCD was new, that visibility during every moment of use was unnecessary, and that performance and market expectations restricted designer freedom.
- ›The Division accepted the Internet Archive screenshots as proof of prior disclosure under Article 7, rejected the applicant's component-part visibility objection, and found novelty absent only in part because the differences were not immaterial.
- ›The Division held that the compared diabolos nevertheless produced the same overall impression, so the RCD lacked individual character and was declared invalid.
Deciding panel
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberBenjamin VAN BAVEL
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000131885 vs Zhenkai Cui | 2026-04-30 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000129622 vs Squar3D Aps | 2026-04-29 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000129681 vs Squar3D Aps | 2026-04-29 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000126976 vs Dohány Kft. | 2026-04-08 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000131547 vs Brandworl Management Co., Limited | 2026-04-07 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000131507 vs Shenzhen Chenyu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. | 2026-03-31 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000130128 vs joboo GmbH | 2026-02-03 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |
| 000130086 vs CROSS BORDEP (HK) CO., LIMITED | 2026-02-02 | REUD invalidated | Art 25(1)(b) | 21 | 8 |