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EU General Court upholds Lego brick Community design: modular systems exception applies; invalidity onus on applicant; hyperlinks alone not prior disclosure

Published on: 15 February 2024

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Delta Sport Handelskontor GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office, T-537/22, ECLI-EU-T-2024–22

What are the practical implications of this case?

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 states that Community design protection does not extend to shapes whose appearance is determined by technical function, nor to designs concerning interconnections. Such subject matter is intended for patent protection, which is time-bound and subject to pre-grant examination. Read together with Article 8(1), the court also examined Article 8(3) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, which permits protection for designs of products that belong to a modular system, even where interconnection features are present. The ruling confirms that the modular systems exception applies even if a feature of the design is not solely the result of technical requirements. It further confirms that the onus to prove invalidity—namely a lack of novelty and individual character—rests with the invalidity applicant, not with the design proprietor or the EUIPO at the point of filing. This finally underlines that a Community design enjoys a presumption of novelty...

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