Invalidity · first instance · 2018-08-21
000010587
Contested design: 002699777-0001
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 002699777-0001 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
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 · Pedaltrain website / Internet Archive · disclosed 2014-04-20
mounting board for guitar effects
US 6 459 023 B1 · US technical patent
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character, arguing that the contested pedalboard reproduced the earlier Pedaltrain 3 and that its features were technically dictated.
- ›The holder argued that Pedaltrain 3 remained on sale but did not destroy validity because the contested RCD had four rails and three gaps instead of five rails and four gaps.
- ›The Division found the archived Pedaltrain website, the CEO affidavit, the parties’ images and the admitted sales history sufficient to prove prior disclosure of Pedaltrain 3 before the filing date.
- ›Given broad designer freedom for pedalboards, the shared frame, rails, colour and simple modern appearance dominated; fewer rails and removal of the product name were only minor variations.
- ›The contested RCD lacked individual character, so the invalidity application was upheld and the holder was ordered to bear costs fixed at EUR 750.
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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