Invalidity · first instance · 2020-12-16
000108261
Contested design: 000992078-0003
Outcome
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld, the contested Community design is declared invalid, and the holder must bear the applicant's costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text(de)
1. Dem Antrag auf Nichtigerklärung wird stattgegeben. 2. Das eingetragene Gemeinschaftsgeschmacksmuster Nr. 000992078-0003 wird für nichtig erklärt. 3. Die Inhaberin trägt die Kosten der Antragstellerin, die auf 750 EUR festgesetzt werden.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Green Label Manufacturing Europe Limitedvia PDF extraction
Hong Kong (HK)
Flat/RM 1406 14F Loon Key Building, 267-275 Des Voeux Road, Central Hongkong, Sonderverwaltungszone Hongkong der Volksrepublik China
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Miele & Cie. KG
Germany (DE)
Schutzrechte/Verträge, Carl-Miele-Str. 29, 33332 Gütersloh, Deutschland
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity under Article 25(1)(b) in conjunction with Article 4(2), arguing the vacuum cleaner bag is a component of a complex product that is not visible in normal use.
- ›The holder argued vacuum cleaner bags are consumables rather than components, are replaced without dismantling the vacuum cleaner, and therefore the Article 4(2) restrictions do not apply.
- ›The Division held that a vacuum cleaner bag is a component of the complex product of a vacuum cleaner and that replacing it involves disassembly and reassembly within the meaning of the Regulation.
- ›The Division found the bag is not visible during the vacuum cleaner's intended use because opening the cleaner and changing the bag is maintenance, not normal use.
- ›The invalidity application was upheld, the contested RCD was declared invalid, and costs were awarded against the holder.
Deciding panel
- MemberAlvaro SESMA MERINO
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberGailė SAKALAITĖ
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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