Invalidity · first instance · 2023-08-01
000118338
Contested design: 004124642-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld; Registered Community Design No 004124642-0001 is declared invalid; 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. 004124642-0001 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
Castello s.r.l.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Sammichele 30, Turi, Italia
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Societa' Generale delle Acque Minerali S.p.A.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Salandra 1/A, 00187 Roma, Italia
Represented by
Prior art cited (1)
bottles
RCD No 002648576-0001 · EUIPO Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2015-03-09
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character, relying in particular on earlier RCD No 002648576-0001 for bottles and arguing that the contested bottle shape had already been disclosed.
- ›The holder replied that the comparison should focus on the registered shape, that PET bottle features such as constriction and ribs were not mandatory technical constraints, and that the cited materials did not prove market saturation or identical prior designs.
- ›The Division found the earlier RCD had been validly disclosed before the filing date, rejected the claimed market-crowding evidence as insufficient, and held that the designer retained broad freedom for the bottle body and decoration.
- ›Comparing the overall impressions, the Division considered the differences in rings and ribs minor and concluded that the contested design lacked individual character, so the invalidity application was upheld in full.
Deciding panel
- MemberEnrico D’ERRICO
- MemberElisabetta FERRARO
- MemberMichele M. BENEDETTI - ALOISI
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| itItalian | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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