Invalidity · first instance · 2026-04-21
000130166
Contested design: 015043366-0001
Outcome
The invalidity application is upheld, the contested EU design is declared invalid, and the holder must bear costs fixed at EUR 720.
Show verbatim operative text
1. The application for a declaration of invalidity is upheld. 2. Registered EU design No 015043366-0001 is declared invalid. 3. The holder bears the costs, fixed at EUR 720.
CostsHolder ordered to pay costs of €720
Parties
Applicant · invalidity challenger
Carl Freudenberg KGvia PDF extraction
Germany (DE)
Weinheim, Germany
Represented by
Holder · RCD owner
Nanchang Wangxing Technology Co., Ltd.
China (CN)
Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, China
Prior art cited (1)
Floor mops (part of-)
EU design registration No 015024098-0002 · EU Designs Bulletin · disclosed 2023-06-14
Legal grounds invoked
Argument summary
- ›The applicant argued the contested brush head lacked novelty and individual character over earlier EU design No 015024098-0002, with differences limited to color and bristles.
- ›The holder argued the earlier design covered only a plastic accessory, while added brush filaments changed thickness, texture, function, and overall visual impression.
- ›The Division found the earlier EU design was validly disclosed, designer freedom was at least average, and bristle-related differences had limited impact because cleaning function largely dictated them.
- ›It concluded both designs created the same overall impression on the informed user, so the contested design lacked individual character and was invalidated.
Deciding panel
- MemberRebecca SANTANA DAVIES
- MemberChiara BORACE
- MemberCarlos MATEO PÉREZ
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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