Invalidity · first instance · 2018-08-21
000010577
Contested design: 002699777-0005
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 002699777-0005 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 (3)
pedalboard
Pedaltrain Pro · pedaltrain.com / Internet Archive · disclosed 2013-08-06
pedalboard
Pedaltrain Grande · pedaltrain.com / Internet Archive · disclosed 2013-08-06
mounting board for guitar effects
US 6 459 023 B1 · United States patent filing · disclosed 2000-09-07
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character and argued the pedalboard features were solely dictated by technical function.
- ›Holder argued its earlier Pedaltrain Pro and Grande products did not destroy novelty and differed through rail spacing and a sharper elevation angle.
- ›The Division found the earlier Pedaltrain designs had been publicly disclosed before filing through the website, sales evidence, and the holder's own submissions.
- ›Given broad designer freedom for pedalboards, the differences were minor and the contested design created the same overall impression as Pedaltrain Pro.
- ›The application was upheld, the contested RCD was declared invalid, and costs of EUR 750 were awarded against the holder.
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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