Invalidity · first instance · 2022-02-07
000114665
Contested design: 005134988-0006
Outcome
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld; registered Community design No 005134988-0006 is declared invalid, and the holder must bear costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text(it)
1. La domanda di dichiarazione di nullità è accolta. 2. Il disegno o modello comunitario registrato n. 005134988-0006 è dichiarato nullo. 3. Il titolare sopporta l’onere delle spese, fissate a 750 EUR.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
TotalEnergies SEvia PDF extraction
France (FR)
2 place Jean Millier, La Défense 6, 92400 Courbevoie, Francia
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
S.I.RA.L. S.p.A.
Italy (IT)
Via Boscofangone Zona Industriale Asi Frazione Nola-Marigliano, 80035 Nola (Na), Italia
Represented by
Prior art cited (1)
canister
French design No 043409-0001 · French Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2004-10-22
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that the contested RCD lacked novelty and individual character because it reproduced the applicant's earlier French design No 043409-0001, with only minor functional differences.
- ›The holder replied that the similarities reflected sector best practices and functional constraints for oil containers, that labels differentiated the products, and that the dispute had become moot after its sublicense ended.
- ›The Division held that the case remained live, accepted public disclosure of the earlier French design through its bulletin publication, and found the designer's freedom limited only by the need to contain and pour liquids.
- ›Comparing overall impressions, the Division found the same basic canister shape, triangular handle, and spout arrangement; minor surface differences did not create a different overall impression, so the RCD lacked individual character.
Deciding panel
- MemberMichele M BENEDETTI - ALOISI
- MemberElisabetta FERRARO
- MemberEnrico D’ERRICO
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| itItalian | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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