Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2021:613
Date: 2021-09-22
Language of the case: Bulgarian
Subject matter: Intellectual, industrial and commercial property;Designs
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Bulgaria

Judgment of the General Court (Tenth Chamber) of 22 September 2021 – T i D kontrolni sistemi v EUIPO – Sigmatron (Signalling apparatuses and devices) (Case T‑503/20) (Community design – Invalidity proceedings – Registered Community design representing signalling apparatuses and devices – Earlier Community design – Ground for invalidity – No individual character – Declaration of invalidity of a prior design – No effect – Disclosure of the earlier design – Informed user – Degree of freedom of the designer – No different overall impression – Article 6 and Article 25(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002) 1. Community designs – Grounds for invalidity – No individual character – Design not giving the informed user a different overall impression from that produced by the earlier design – Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6(1) and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 44, 55, 56) 2. Community designs – Grounds for invalidity – No individual character – Design not giving the informed user a different overall impression from that produced by the earlier design – Informed user – Concept (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6(1) and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 48, 49, 53, 54) 3. Community designs – Grounds for invalidity – No individual character – Design not giving the informed user a different overall impression from that produced by the earlier design – Representation of signalling apparatuses and devices (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6 and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 57-59, 77, 78, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97-99) 4. Community designs – Grounds for invalidity – No individual character – Design not giving the informed user a different overall impression from that produced by the earlier design – Criteria for assessment – Creative licence (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6 and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 60-63) 5. Community designs – Grounds for invalidity – No individual character – Design not giving the informed user a different overall impression from that produced by the earlier design – Global assessment of all the elements of the earlier design (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Art. 6(1) and (2)) (see para. 79) 6. Community designs – Surrender and invalidity – Application for a declaration of invalidity – Examination of the application – Competence of EUIPO to examine all the requirements laid down in Articles 4 to 9 of Regulation No 6/2002 – Scope (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 4 to 9, 25(1)(b); Commission Regulation No 2245/2002, Art. 28(1)(b)(v)) (see para. 100) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Third Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 30 April 2020 (Case R 956/2019-3) relating to invalidity proceedings between Sigmatron and T i D kontrolni sistemi. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders T i D kontrolni sistemi EOOD to pay the costs.