Invalidity · first instance · 2020-09-30
000107959
Contested design: 005650546-0003
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 0056505460003 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
Henkel AG & Co. KGaAvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
IP Department (CLI), Henkelstrasse 67, 40589 Düsseldorf, Germany
Represented by
Jörg Schmidt
Holder · RCD owner
Reckitt Benckiser Finish B.V.
Netherlands (NL)
Siriusdreef 14, 2132 WT Hoofddorp, Netherlands
Prior art cited (1)
dosage packaging for washing agents
RCD No 0036197170010 · Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2019-05-07
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant argued the contested capsule conflicted with its earlier RCD because both designs shared the same four-compartment rotating arrangement and thus the same overall impression.
- ›Holder argued designer freedom was constrained by film-forming production limits and that the contested monodose capsule's compact circular form and softer compartments created a different impression.
- ›The Division accepted the earlier RCD as prior protected design, disregarded its dotted outer contour and the contested design's decoration, and found designer freedom only partly limited.
- ›It held that differences in compartment shape, compact circular profile and overall configuration outweighed the shared central compartment and rotational arrangement, so no conflict existed.
- ›The invalidity application was rejected and the applicant was ordered to pay EUR 400 in holder representation costs.
Deciding panel
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberBenjamin VAN BAVEL
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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