Invalidity · first instance · 2025-06-18
000128315
Contested design: 015022444-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested EU design is declared invalid, and the holder must pay EUR 750 in costs.
Show verbatim operative text(fr)
1. La demande en nullité est accueillie. 2. Le dessin ou modèle de l’UE enregistré nº 015022444-0001 est déclaré nul. 3. La titulaire supporte les frais, fixés à EUR 750.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €750
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Anotherwayvia PDF extraction
France (FR)
Marseille, France
Represented by
Prior art cited (2)
Two-sided sponge disclosed on INGA Instagram account
Instagram post of "L’éponge" by INGA · Instagram · disclosed 2022-04-04
Ulule crowdfunding page for INGA showing the two-sided sponge in four colours
https://fr.ulule.com/inga-bien-fait/ · Internet Archive / Ulule · disclosed 2022-05-17
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that the contested sponge design had been self-disclosed more than one year before filing and lacked novelty and, in any event, individual character.
- ›The holder filed no observations in response to the invalidity application.
- ›The Division accepted Annexes 3 and 5 as public disclosures before the relevant grace-period date and treated them as showing the same INGA two-sided sponge product.
- ›Given the designer’s broad freedom, the colour and stitching differences did not alter the overall impression on the informed user.
- ›The application was upheld on Article 25(1)(b) in conjunction with Article 6(1)(b), and the contested design was declared invalid.
Deciding panel
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberJessica N. Lewis
- MemberMichelle Marie DELLACHERIE
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| frFrench | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
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