Invalidity · first instance · 2020-05-21
000106882
Contested design: 002991315-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld; Registered Community design No 0029913150001 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 0029913150001 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
NIKE Innovate C.V.via PDF extraction
United States (US)
One Bowerman Drive, Beaverton, Oregon 97005-6453, United States of America
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Sytyte Oy
Finland (FI)
Ruukintie 9, 10330 Pinjainen, Finland
Represented by
Prior art cited (2)
DIADORA silver soccer training ball (Lido Soft Touch Ball)
YouTube; DIADORA 'Spring'15 Soccer Collection catalogue · disclosed 2013-09-06
KIPSTA Sunny 500 green ball
YouTube · disclosed 2015-06-18
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant sought invalidity for lack of individual character, arguing the protected triad ornament on a sports ball matched earlier DIADORA and KIPSTA football designs and that dotted seam lines should be disregarded.
- ›Holder argued the design's unique seaming and four interlocking rounded triangular panels created a new overall impression and said designer freedom in football design was broad.
- ›The Division accepted disclosure of the DIADORA and KIPSTA balls from YouTube evidence, with the DIADORA catalogue corroborating disclosure, and found broad designer freedom for football ornamentation.
- ›Comparing only the protected ornament, the Division found the contested triad arrangement almost identical to the prior design and held that the RCD lacked individual character, so the application was upheld.
Deciding panel
- MemberLudmila CELISOVA
- MemberIvanka IVANOVA
- MemberMichele M. BENEDETTI-ALOISI
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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