Invalidity · first instance · 2024-04-08
000121479
Contested design: 009200009-0013
Outcome
The invalidity application is refused, and the applicant is ordered to pay the proprietor's costs fixed at EUR 400.
Show verbatim operative text
1. Refuses the application for a declaration of invalidity of registered Community design No 009200009-0013. 2. Orders the applicant to bear the costs incurred by the proprietor, which are fixed at EUR 400.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs of €400
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Genuins Factoryvia PDF extraction
Spain (ES)
Juan de la Cierva 64, Parque Empresarial, 03203 Elche, Spain
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Birkenstock IP GmbH
Germany (DE)
Burg Ockenfels, 53545 Linz am Rhein, Germany
Prior art cited (4)
sandals
Community design No 008535264-0009 · EUIPO online database · disclosed 2021-05-21
sandals
Community design No 008782486-0002 · EUIPO online database · disclosed 2021-12-14
sandals
Community design No 007550058-0013 · EUIPO online database · disclosed 2020-03-03
Instagram posts showing sandals
Instagram posts · Instagram
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character based on four earlier disclosures, including three earlier Community designs and Instagram posts.
- ›The proprietor argued that the contested sandal design remained novel and had individual character, and it disputed that the Instagram material proved disclosure.
- ›The Division found D1 to D4 had all been disclosed before the filing date, including D4 on Instagram, because the proprietor did not rebut the evidence with sufficient proof.
- ›Comparing each earlier design individually, the Division held that material, sole, strap and heel-strap differences produced a different overall impression, so neither Article 6 nor Article 5 invalidity was made out.
Deciding panel
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberALVARO SOCMERINO
- MemberIvanka IVANOVA
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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