Invalidity · first instance · 2024-02-23
000121565
Contested design: 008320014-0004
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested registered Community design is declared invalid, and the holder must bear costs of EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text(it)
1. La domanda di dichiarazione di nullità è accolta. 2. Il disegno o modello comunitario registrato n. 008320014-0004 è dichiarato nullo. 3. La titolare sopporta l’onere delle spese, fissate a 750 EUR.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Vimar S.p.A.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Viale Vicenza, 14, 36063 Marostica (Vicenza), Italia
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
4 Box s.r.l.via PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Brunelleschi, 16, 20146 Milano, Italia
Represented by
Prior art cited (1)
electrical socket shown in the bticino catalog
HC4140/16W · bticino catalog "Valore superiore su tutta la linea"
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and at least lack of individual character, relying mainly on an earlier bticino catalog disclosure of socket model HC4140/16W.
- ›The holder argued the dashed cuboid should be disregarded, the socket shape was not dictated exclusively by technical standards, the design remained new and individual, and the market was crowded.
- ›The Division accepted the 2005 bticino catalog as prior disclosure, found only limited design freedom, and held that the common socket features outweighed the minor differences in the external rectangular element.
- ›The contested design created the same overall impression on the informed user as the earlier model, so the application was upheld and the design was declared invalid.
Deciding panel
- MemberElisabetta FERRARO
- MemberEnrico D'ERRICO
- MemberJessica N. LEWIS
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| itItalian | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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