Invalidity · first instance · 2021-08-20
000111461
Contested design: 002692673-0005
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must pay EUR 750 in costs.
Show verbatim operative text
1. The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. 2. Registered Community design No 0026926730005 is declared invalid. 3. The holder bears the costs, fixed at EUR 750.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
A.L.B. S.P.A.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Località Monti di Deu, 07029 Tempio Pausania (SS), Italy
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Harrogate Spring Water Ltd
United Kingdom (GB)
Harlow Moor Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 0QB, United Kingdom
Represented by
Prior art cited (2)
3D bottle design used for Smeraldina water
Italian trade mark registration No 1 051 146 · 9/03 Italia Imballaggio newsletter
Bottle design marketed from the applicant's KRONES AG-commissioned preparatory works
7-8/14 Italia Imballaggio newsletter · Italia Imballaggio newsletter
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character, arguing the contested water-bottle design copied its earlier faceted Smeraldina bottle designs disclosed since 2003 and 2014.
- ›The holder said the applicant relied on imprecise and crowded prior art, that functional constraints limited bottle design freedom, and that the differences in shape, waist, and pattern created a different overall impression.
- ›The Invalidity Division treated bad-faith and unfair-advantage allegations as irrelevant under Article 25(1)(b) CDR and assessed the case on disclosed prior designs and overall impression.
- ›It found the accepted prior bottle design disclosures and the contested design conveyed the same overall impression despite a crowded sector and some waist-pattern differences, so the contested design lacked individual character.
- ›The application was upheld, the design was declared invalid, and costs were awarded against the holder.
Deciding panel
- MemberElisabetta FERRARO
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- 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 ↗ |
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