Invalidity · first instance · 2024-08-29
000125916
Contested design: 002691410-0001
Outcome
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld; Registered Community design No. 002691410-0001 is declared invalid; 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. 002691410-0001 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
GMP Group Srlvia PDF extraction
Italy (IT)
Via Luigi Galvani 8, 24061 Albano Sant'Alessandro, Italien
Represented by
Giulio Bonadio
Holder · RCD owner
Mercedes-Benz Group AG
Germany (DE)
Mercedesstr. 120, 70372 Stuttgart, Deutschland
Represented by
Sabine Gluthe
Prior art cited (2)
vehicle wheel / rim shown in a Mercedes Benz catalog
Mercedes Benz catalog, March 2014, p. 45 · Mercedes Benz
vehicle wheel / rim
RCD No. 002351247-0003 · Community Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2015-02-16
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character, relying on a March 2014 Mercedes Benz catalog image and earlier RCD No. 002351247-0003 for vehicle wheels.
- ›The holder was invited to comment on the application but filed no observations.
- ›The Division found the catalog disclosure had been made available to the public before the contested filing date; the informed user was familiar with vehicle rims, and designer freedom was not materially constrained.
- ›Minor differences in contrast, spoke proportions and sharpness did not change the overall impression, so the contested design lacked individual character and was declared invalid without examining novelty.
Deciding panel
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberWolfgang SCHRAMEK
- MemberAlvaro SESMA MERINO
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish | human translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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