Invalidity · first instance · 2018-08-21
000010576
Contested design: 002699777-0004
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay the applicant's fixed costs of EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 002699777-0004 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
Warwick GmbH & Co. Music Equipment KG
Germany (DE)
Gewerbegebiet Wohlhausen, 08258 Markneukirchen, Germany
Holder · RCD owner
Pro Stage Gear LLC
United States (US)
108 4th Avenue South, Suite 203, Franklin, TN 37064, United States of America
Represented by
Prior art cited (2)
Pedaltrain 3 pedalboard
http://pedaltrain.com · Internet Archive · disclosed 2013-08-06
mounting board for guitar effects
US 6 459 023 B1 · United States patent · disclosed 2000-09-07
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character over the earlier Pedaltrain 3 and also argued that the design's essential features were dictated by technical function.
- ›The holder argued Pedaltrain 3 remained on sale but did not destroy validity, and said the contested design differed through irregular rail spacing and a sharper elevation angle.
- ›The Division found Pedaltrain 3 had been validly disclosed before filing through the archived website, commercialisation evidence, and the holder's own submissions.
- ›Given broad designer freedom for pedalboards, the identified differences were minor and did not change the overall impression, so the design lacked individual character and was invalidated.
Deciding panel
- MemberGailė SAKALAITĖ
- MemberLudmila ČELISOVA
- MemberBenjamin VAN BAVEL
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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