EUIPO DECISION ON WHEEL DESIGNS

Rims and wheels have been under discussion regarding design protection for many years.

EUIPO Decision on Wheel Designs

Before analyzing the interesting design case dated 7 October 2022, before the EUIPO about wheels/tyres, some background information should be mentioned. S Dizing S.r.l. (‘the design holder’), based in Romania, is the holder of the Community Design No 7397146-0001 (‘the contested design’). The design indicates wheels for vehicles. The registration was filed on 14 December 2019 and published in the Community Designs Bulletin on 8 January 2020.

Concaver Sp. z.o.o. ('the invalidity applicant’), based in Poland, is the owner of Registered Community Design (‘RCD’) No 7307277-0001 (‘the prior design’) which was filed on 28 November 2019 and published on 10 December 2019. The invalidity applicant filed an application for a declaration of invalidity of the contested RDC on 5 June 2021. The application was based on Article 25(1)(b) of Community Design Regulation (‘CDR’), in conjunction with Articles 4(1), 5(1)(b), 6(1)(b) and 25(1)(e).