Invalidity · first instance · 2026-02-27
000127168
Contested design: 000732607-0002
Outcome
The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld, the registered EU design No. 000732607-0002 is declared invalid, and the holder must bear costs fixed at EUR 750.
Show verbatim operative text(de)
1. Dem Antrag auf Nichtigerklärung wird stattgegeben. 2. Das eingetragene EU-Geschmacksmuster Nr. 000732607-0002 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
Robert Bosch GmbHvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Gerlingen, Deutschland
Holder · RCD owner
KNIPEX-WERK C. Gustav Putsch KG
Germany (DE)
Wuppertal, Germany
Represented by
Prior art cited (1)
water-pump pliers design
Chinese design No. 3040630 (application No. 95301009.0) · WIPO Global Design Database / Chinese Patent Office database · disclosed 1996-02-07
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant sought invalidity for lack of novelty and individual character based on earlier Chinese design D1 disclosed before the contested design filing date.
- ›The holder argued D1 was effectively a copy of its own earlier product, claimed the contested design remained new and individual, and requested an oral hearing in the alternative.
- ›The Division held D1 was validly disclosed by publication in the Chinese Patent Office record before 30 May 2007 and that any copying allegation was irrelevant to disclosure.
- ›Comparing the designs as a whole, the Division found only minor differences and the same overall impression on the informed user, so the contested design lacked individual character and was invalidated.
Deciding panel
- MemberWolfgang SCHRAMEK
- MemberNatascha GALPERIN
- MemberThorsten ICKENROTH
Decision files
| Language | Type | Source link |
|---|---|---|
| enEnglish (en) | machine translated | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
| deGerman | original | Download original from EUIPO ↗ |
Locarno classes
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