Invalidity · first instance · 2020-06-11
000107599
Contested design: 002718932-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is rejected, and the applicant must bear the holder's costs fixed at EUR 400.
Show verbatim operative text
1. The application for a declaration of invalidity of registered Community design No 002718932-0001 is rejected. 2. The applicant bears the holder’s costs, fixed at EUR 400.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs of €400
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Przedsiębiorstwo Handlowo-Usługowe JANOvia PDF extraction
Poland (PL)
ul. Sienieńska 252, 27400 Ostowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland
Holder · RCD owner
Miroslav Chuděj, s.r.o.via PDF extraction
Czechia (CZ)
Hutisko-Solanec č. 310, 756 62 Hutisko-Solanec, Czech Republic
Represented by
Pavel Nádvorník
Prior art cited (3)
linear floor drain
RCD No 000107834-0013 · Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2004-03-09
linear floor drain
RCD No 001013486-0005 · Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2008-10-22
linear floor drain shown in Zhejiang Wanji Industry Co. Ltd. 2015 product catalogue
Design No WJ-560C · Zhejiang Wanji Industry Co. Ltd. catalogue
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant relied on two earlier RCDs and a 2015 Wanji catalogue design, arguing the contested linear floor drain lacked novelty and individual character and that only the visible installed features should be compared.
- ›The holder answered that the product was not a complex-product component under Article 4(2), that buyers inspect the drain as a whole, and that the frame, side slots and additional structural elements created a different overall impression.
- ›The Division accepted disclosure of D1 and D2, rejected the Wanji catalogue design as insufficiently proven, and refused to exclude the contested drain's less-visible features from the comparison.
- ›It found the elongated side slots, thin outer edges and additional structural parts sufficient to preserve individual character, so the invalidity application was rejected and costs were awarded against the applicant.
Deciding panel
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberGailė SAKALAITĖ
- 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 ↗ |
Locarno classes
Similar decisions
Ranked by shared Locarno class + shared legal grounds + matching outcome. Click a case to view full detail.
| Case | Date | Outcome | Shared grounds | Locarno | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000125335 vs Digikor Oy | 2025-02-11 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000121854 vs Zhenhua Sun | 2024-02-26 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000120318 vs BIODOM EUROPE S.R.L. | 2023-10-10 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000120199 vs William Huang | 2023-05-30 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000116628 vs DCX POLSKA Sp. z o.o. | 2023-01-13 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000118242 vs TAIZHOU WEIYE REFRIGERATION EQUIPMENT CO.,LTD | 2022-11-03 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000114601 vs fire friends GmbH & Co. KG | 2022-03-23 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |
| 000114903 vs CERAMICA CIELO S.p.A. | 2022-03-18 | — | Art 25(1)(b) | 23 | 7 |