Invalidity · first instance · 2021-03-19
000107679
Contested design: 003320555-0002
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay the applicant's costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text
1. The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. 2. Registered Community design No 003320555-0002 is declared invalid. 3. The holder bears the applicant’s costs, fixed at EUR 750.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Handelsmaatschappij J. Van Hilst B. V.via PDF extraction
Netherlands (NL)
Elzenweg 19, 5144 MB Waalwijk, Netherlands
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Puma SEvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
PUMA Way 1, 91074 Herzogenaurach, Germany
Prior art cited (1)
Puma 'Creepers' sneaker with a crepe sole worn by Rihanna
Rihanna Instagram posts of 16/12/2014 and related online articles · Rihanna Instagram and online fashion/news websites · disclosed 2014-12-16
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity because Puma's Creeper sneaker had been publicly disclosed before the claimed priority date and the contested design therefore lacked protection-worthy individual character.
- ›The holder argued the application was inadmissible, the cited internet material was unreliable or insufficiently visible to the relevant circles, and the contested design retained individual character.
- ›The Division accepted the applicant's supplementary evidence, found the Puma Creepers design had been made available to the public by December 2014, and held that the holder had not rebutted disclosure to specialised EU circles.
- ›Comparing the disclosed Creeper shoe with the contested RCD, the Division found only minor differences and concluded that the RCD lacked individual character, so invalidity was granted in full.
Deciding panel
- MemberLudmila CELISOVA
- MemberJessica LEWIS
- MemberCarmen SÁNCHEZ PALOMARES
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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