Invalidity · first instance · 2026-02-23
000130683
Contested design: 015095621-0003
Outcome
The application for a declaration of invalidity is rejected, and the applicant must bear the holder's costs fixed at EUR 400.
Show verbatim operative text
1. The application for a declaration of invalidity of registered EU design No 015095621-0003 is rejected. 2. The applicant bears the holder's costs, fixed at EUR 400.
CostsApplicant ordered to pay costs of €400
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
geobra Brandstätter Stiftung & Co. KGvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Zirndorf, Germany
Represented by
Sebastian Eckhardt
Holder · RCD owner
Shengzhi Jiang
China (CN)
Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China
Represented by
Emilio Zeininger
Prior art cited (3)
Toy figure resembling a hockey player.
EU design No 002597815-0017 · Office eSearch / publication · disclosed 2015-10-05
Toy figure resembling a hockey player.
EU design No 002597815-0012 · Office eSearch / publication · disclosed 2015-10-05
Toy figure used in Power Planet toy sets.
Power Planet / Made-in-China / Google search results · Internet materials cited by the applicant · disclosed 2023-11-15
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued that the police toy figure copied its earlier PLAYMOBIL designs, used its trade mark features and infringed German copyright, and it also relied on alleged Power Planet internet disclosures.
- ›The holder filed no observations in response to the invalidity application.
- ›The Division accepted disclosure only of earlier designs D1 and D2, rejected the internet materials as insufficient proof of disclosure, and found the contested figure produced a different overall impression and remained new.
- ›The trade mark claim failed because any similarity was low and outweighed by the contested figure's distinct police outfit and features, while the copyright claim failed because the protected work and German-law basis were not properly substantiated.
- ›All invalidity grounds were rejected, and the applicant had to bear the holder's costs fixed at EUR 400.
Deciding panel
- MemberLudmila ČELIŠOVÁ
- MemberRasa BARAKAUSKIENĖ
- MemberDimitrios ANDRIANOPOULOS
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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