Invalidity · first instance · 2023-08-25
000118962
Contested design: 008916910-0002
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
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. Registered Community design No 008916910-0002 is declared invalid. The holder bears the costs, fixed at EUR 750.
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, United States
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Kondor Sp. z o.o.
Poland (PL)
ul. Sw. Teresy 91a, 91341 Lodz Poland
Represented by
Prior art cited (1)
'Femmes Chaussure' by Sabots clogs
ASIN B01F7Q35E4 · Amazon.fr · disclosed 2016-05-05
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›Applicant sought invalidity for lack of individual character, relying on Amazon.fr evidence of earlier 'Femmes Chaussure' by Sabots clogs disclosed before the filing date.
- ›Holder challenged the clarity, quality, and disclosure value of the web evidence and argued design freedom for clogs was limited, so the cited differences changed the overall impression.
- ›The Division accepted the Amazon disclosure as sufficiently identified and dated, and found the compared views adequate for assessing the prior design.
- ›It held the similarities in shape, perforations, strap arrangement, and floral decoration outweighed minor differences, so the contested design lacked individual character and was invalidated.
Deciding panel
- MemberRasa BARAKAUSKIENĖ
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberWolfgang SCHRAMEK
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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