Invalidity · first instance · 2022-11-28
000115525
Contested design: 001050645-0003
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested RCD is declared invalid, and the holder must bear costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text
1. The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. 2. Registered Community design No 001050645-0003 is declared invalid. 3. The holder bears the costs, fixed at EUR 750.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Guangdong Qman Toys Industry Co.,Ltdvia PDF extraction
China (CN)
Intersection of West Side of Xingye West 2nd Road and North Side of Xingye South Road, Laimei Industrial Zone, Chenghai District, Shantou, Guangdong 515000, China
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Lego A/S
Denmark (DK)
Aastvej 1, 7190 Billund, Denmark
Represented by
Prior art cited (1)
building block with one stud and a clamp from a toy construction set
LEGO piece No 61252 from toy construction set No 7241 "Fire Car" · Brickset.com printout concerning LEGO set No 7241 "Fire Car"
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that all essential features were dictated by technical function and that the design also lacked individual character over LEGO piece No 61252 from the 2005 Fire Car set.
- ›The holder replied that the design was protected as part of a modular system under Article 8(3) and that the cited earlier piece differed materially in appearance.
- ›The Division held that the interconnection features relied on by the applicant fell within the modular-system exception, so Article 8(1) could not invalidate the design on those arguments.
- ›It accepted disclosure of the earlier 2005 LEGO piece and found that doubling the plate length and minor underside differences did not change the overall impression on the informed user.
- ›The application was upheld because the contested design lacked individual character, and costs were awarded against the holder.
Deciding panel
- MemberRasa BARAKAUSKIENĖ
- MemberLudmila CELISOVA
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| deDeutsch (de) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| 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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