Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2020:94
Date: 2020-03-12
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: Intellectual, industrial and commercial property;Designs
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Latvia

Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 12 March 2020 – Gamma-A v EUIPO — Zivju pārstrādes uzņēmumu serviss (Packaging for foodstuffs) (Case T‑352/19) (Community design — Invalidity proceedings — Registered Community design representing packaging for foodstuffs — Earlier design — Ground for invalidity — No individual character — No different overall impression — Article 6(1)(b) and Article 25(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002) 1. Community designs — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Declaratory judgments — Precluded (Art. 266 TFEU; Council Regulation No 6/2002, Art. 61(3) and (6)) (see para. 11) 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 — Global assessment of all the elements of the earlier design (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6 and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 17, 18, 39) 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 packaging for foodstuffs (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6(1) and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 24, 40, 43, 49, 50) 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 — Global assessment of all the elements of the earlier design — Nature of the product incorporating a design — Effect (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Recital 14 and Arts 6(1), 25(1)(b) and 36(6)) (see paras 28, 29) 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 — Scope — Content of the product incorporating a design — Not included (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6(1) and 25(1)(b)) (see para. 33) 6. 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), 10(1) and 25(1)(b)) (see paras 36-38) 7. 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 — Freedom of the designer (Council Regulation No 6/2002, Arts 6 and 25(1)(b)) (see para. 48) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Third Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 25 March 2019 (Case R 2516/2017-3), relating to invalidity proceedings between Piejūra SIA and Gamma-A. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Gamma-A SIA to pay the costs.