Invalidity · first instance · 2021-11-05
000114043
Contested design: 002463174-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is rejected and the applicant must pay 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 002463174-0001 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
Loventi Belgium NVvia PDF extraction
Belgium (BE)
Industriestraat 5c, 2500 Lier, Belgium
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
H.V.D. B.V.B.A.
Belgium (BE)
Atomveldstraat 1 bus 2, 9450 Denderhoutem, Belgium
Represented by
Prior art cited (4)
Google search results images for HVD waffle iron predating the contested design
Google search for 'hvd waffle iron' · Google
HVD A57 waffle iron shown in a YouTube video; no basin
https://www.youtube.com · YouTube · disclosed 2010-05-23
HVD A57 waffle iron shown in The Waffle Lab Facebook post; white plastic-like basin
The Waffle Lab Facebook account · disclosed 2012-01-31
HVD waffle iron shown in the Flanders Sourcing Guide brochure; metallic-like basin
Flanders Sourcing Guide · Government of Flanders
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant claimed the contested baking-appliance part lacked novelty and individual character based on earlier HVD A57 waffle-iron disclosures online and in a brochure.
- ›Holder sought suspension because of alleged Belgian court proceedings but filed no substantive observations after the Office resumed the invalidity case.
- ›The Division rejected Google search screenshots as insufficient disclosure evidence but accepted the Facebook post, YouTube video and Flanders brochure as separate prior designs.
- ›None of the prior designs was identical to the contested design, and each produced a different overall impression, mainly because of differences in the operational unit and basin.
- ›The application was rejected in full and the applicant was ordered to pay EUR 400 in representation costs.
Deciding panel
- MemberMichele M. BENEDETTI - ALOISI
- MemberLudmila CELISOVA
- MemberRebecca SANTANA DAVIES
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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