Invalidity · first instance · 2021-03-23
000110681
Contested design: 000070420-0001
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 0000704200001 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
Borek Parasols B.V.via PDF extraction
Netherlands (NL)
Bedrijfsweg 7, Oisterwijk, 5061 JX, Netherlands
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Tribù N.V.
Belgium (BE)
Oude Heidestraat 72, 3740 Bilzen, Belgium
Represented by
Prior art cited (5)
Schultz 1966 armchair designed by Richard Schultz for Florence Knoll
https://knoll.com · knoll.com
Van der Sluis armchair designed by Gijs van der Sluis
https://www.degeleetalage.nl · degeleetalage.nl
first Natal armchair
DM/049089 · WIPO Designs Bulletin No 09/1999 · disclosed 1999-08-17
Arco Frame chair designed by Burkhard Vogtherr for Arco
internet screenshot
Scalamonti armchair
DM/063875-0001 · WIPO International Design Database / WIPO Designs Bulletin No 49/2014 renewal publication · disclosed 2003-04-09
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant argued the contested chair lacked novelty and individual character, relying mainly on several earlier chair designs and contending many features were technically driven.
- ›Holder replied that the design reflected a specific combination of choices, that not all invoked disclosures were proven, and that the shell created a different overall impression.
- ›The Division accepted disclosure only for the earlier Natal design D1 and rejected the other cited items as insufficiently proven or untranslated evidence.
- ›Comparing the contested design with D1, the Division found similar frame geometry but a strikingly different shell, producing a different overall impression on the informed user.
- ›The invalidity ground under Article 25(1)(b) CDR failed, so the application was rejected and costs were awarded against the applicant.
Deciding panel
- MemberLudmila CELISOVA
- MemberElisabetta FERRARO
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
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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