Invalidity · first instance · 2018-11-23
000010735
Contested design: 000009097-0003
Outcome
The invalidity application is rejected, and the applicant must pay the holder's costs fixed at EUR 400.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity of registered Community design No 000009097-0003 is rejected. The applicant bears the holder’s costs, fixed at EUR 400.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs of €400
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Dinopol Sp. z o.o.
Poland (PL)
ul. Odolanowska 91, 63 400 Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland
Holder · RCD owner
Brødrene Hartmann A/S
Denmark (DK)
Ørnegårdsvej 18, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark
Represented by
Prior art cited (14)
display package
US patent No 7,665,608 B2 · US patent
display package for articles such as eggs
European patent 1 373 100 B1 · European patent
patent concerning the egg package
Polish patent 200 629 B1 · Polish patent
Brødrene Hartmann fact sheet for '1x12 imagic® E 9212' egg packaging
https://hartmannazurecdn.azureedge.net · hartmannazurecdn.azureedge.net
brief summary of the market report
Global Egg Packaging Market 2016-2020 · businesswire.com
excerpt from Huhtamaki 2013 Annual Accounts and Directors’ Report
Huhtamaki
Poultry Digest article excerpt
Huhtamaki’s extensive range of egg packaging solutions · Poultry Digest
Brødrene Hartmann flyer 'Good reasons for using moulded fibre egg packaging'
https://hartmannazurecdn.azureedge.net · hartmannazurecdn.azureedge.net
egg carton data sheets of OMNI-PAC GmbH, Celluloses de la Loire and Huhtamaki
online
Technical Egg packaging Information screenshot
http://hartmann-packaging.com · hartmann-packaging.com · disclosed 2016-09-14
imagic® egg packaging printout
http://www.hartmann-packaging.com · hartmann-packaging.com · disclosed 2017-05-23
MOBA specifications for packaging producers
Grading-Packing-Processing. Egg packing info and requirements: Grading · MOBA
STAALKAT specifications for packaging producers
PD Eggtrays Guidelines · STAALKAT
NestPack – The premium printout
http://www.huhtamaki.com · huhtamaki.com
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that the egg-carton design's essential features were solely dictated by technical function, relying on patents, market materials and machine-compatibility specifications under Articles 25(1)(b) and 8(1) CDR.
- ›The holder replied that the contested carton's visual configuration was distinctive, that alternative designs could perform the same functions, and that machine compatibility did not compel the exact appearance chosen.
- ›The Invalidity Division held that patent protection can coexist with design protection and that the cited market evidence showed visual differentiation matters in egg-carton packaging.
- ›It also found the MOBA and STAALKAT specifications left room for design variation, so the RCD's essential features were not shown to be solely function-driven; the application was rejected.
Deciding panel
- MemberGailė SAKALAITĖ
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberBirgit FILTENBORG
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
Locarno classes
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