Invalidity · first instance · 2023-07-05
000119120
Contested design: 004156909-0005
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, Registered Community design No 004156909-0005 is declared invalid, and the holder must bear costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text(de)
1. Dem Antrag auf Nichtigerklärung wird stattgegeben. 2. Das eingetragene Gemeinschaftsgeschmacksmuster Nr. 004156909-0005 wird für nichtig erklärt. 3. Die Inhaberin trägt die Kosten, die auf 750 EUR festgesetzt werden.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Crocs, Inc.via PDF extraction
United States (US)
13601 Via Varra, Broomfield Colorado 80020, Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
HSM Schuhmarketing GmbH
Germany (DE)
Werksstr. 15, 45527 Hattingen, Deutschland
Represented by
Marc Barth
Prior art cited (1)
Schuhe
Gemeinschaftsgeschmacksmuster Nr. 001754854-0001 · Blatt für Gemeinschaftsgeschmacksmuster · disclosed 2010-09-24
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of individual character based on earlier RCD D1 for shoes.
- ›The holder argued the contested clog created a sufficiently different overall impression and invoked a crowded market with limited design freedom.
- ›The Division accepted disclosure of D1 through its published RCD registration and found the relevant product sector to be clog footwear.
- ›The Division held that the shared overall form, open heel, perforated upper, side lines, strap, and round rivets outweighed the detailed differences.
- ›The application was upheld and the contested design was declared invalid in full, with costs awarded against the holder.
Deciding panel
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberIvanka IVANOVA
- MemberAlvaro SESMA MERINO
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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