Invalidity · first instance · 2018-09-11
000010753
Contested design: 003852672-0011
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay EUR 750 in costs.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 0038526720011 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
David Kipping
Germany (DE)
Agrippinawerft 24, 50678 Cologne, Germany
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Chrome Cherry Design Studio (PTY) Ltdvia PDF extraction
ZA
Unit 304, Salt Circle Arcade, 19 Kent Street, Salt River, 7925 Cape Town, South Africa
Prior art cited (3)
classic Lego plate toy assembly block design
offers for silicone straps and connectors creative building kit and Silicone Roll Up by Strictly Briks
www.amazon.co.uk · Amazon.co.uk · disclosed 2016-04-21
silicone Briks and straps 222 Piece flexible building bricks
ASIN B01LZWR2PL · Amazon.com · disclosed 2016-10-20
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant argued the contested flexible toy-block tape design lacked technical distinctiveness and, at minimum, lacked novelty or individual character over earlier Lego-compatible products.
- ›Holder disputed sufficient disclosure of the earlier designs, denied that the design features were purely functional, and argued the overall impression differed.
- ›The Division accepted Amazon evidence for prior design D2 as a pre-filing public disclosure, found novelty preserved, but held the shared shape, stud layout, flexibility and proportions dominated the overall impression.
- ›The application was upheld because the contested RCD lacked individual character under Article 6 CDR, and the holder was ordered to pay costs.
Deciding panel
- MemberMichele M. BENEDETTI-ALOISI
- MemberBirgit FILTENBORG
- MemberPierluigi M. VILLANI
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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