Invalidity · first instance · 2019-08-05
000011186
Contested design: 004040277-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is rejected, and the applicant must bear the holder's costs fixed at EUR 400.
Show verbatim operative text
The application for a declaration of invalidity of registered Community design No 004040277-0001 is rejected. The applicant bears the holder’s costs, fixed at EUR 400.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs of €400
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Andrzej Długosz
Poland (PL)
Marcinkowskiego 18/17, 85056 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Holder · RCD owner
La Mare Spółka z o.o.via PDF extraction
Poland (PL)
ul. Portowa 10, 85-757 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Represented by
Prior art cited (4)
Houseboat shown in Facebook post by Marina & Bootsbetrieb Niederhavel GmbH
Marina & Bootsbetrieb Niederhavel GmbH Facebook post dated 20/04/2017 · Facebook · disclosed 2017-04-20
Houseboat photos published on Marina & Bootsbetrieb Niederhavel GmbH website
https://www.marina-hausboote.de/hausboot-vennietung-brandenburg-havel.html · marina-hausboote.de
Earlier Apartboat houseboat shown at a 2015 houseboat show
La Mare Facebook posts and rp-online.de article dated 18/01/2015 (Annexes 7 and 11) · La Mare Facebook account / rp-online.de · disclosed 2015-01-18
Earlier Apartboat houseboat shown on Facebook and YouTube in 2016
La Mare Facebook posts dated 22/03/2016 and 20/09/2016 and YouTube video "Apartboat from La Mare" (Annexes 7 and 10) · La Mare Facebook account / YouTube · disclosed 2016-03-22
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant attacked the RCD for lack of novelty and individual character based on a third-party Marina houseboat and the holder's earlier Apartboat houseboats disclosed online and at a 2015 trade fair.
- ›The holder argued that the Marina evidence was undated or unreliable, that the Apartboat materials showed multiple different designs, and that the contested design remained new and individually distinctive.
- ›The Division rejected the Marina disclosures and several other annexes for deficient proof of disclosure, but accepted two earlier Apartboat designs as properly disclosed before the filing date.
- ›Comparing those two accepted prior designs with the contested RCD, the Division found clear differences in railings, materials, glazing and overall rustic versus industrial appearance, so novelty was preserved.
- ›The application was rejected because the contested houseboat design retained individual character, and the applicant was ordered to pay EUR 400 in costs.
Deciding panel
- MemberBenjamin VAN BAVEL
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberGailé SAKALAITE
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| esespañol (es) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| frfrançais (fr) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| ititaliano (it) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| enEnglish | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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