The General Court upholds the validity of the protection of a Lego toy brick
25-01-2024 Print this page
The General Court finds, on the basis of its case-law and adding to it, that a design is declared invalid only in the case where all its characteristics are excluded from protection. In this case, since some of the arguments made by Delta Sport Handelskontor concern only one of the characteristics amongst several upheld by EUIPO, those arguments must be held to be ineffective and, for that reason, dismissed. The General Court also finds that Delta Sport Handelskontor, which bears the burden of proof in this context, had not provided evidence capable of demonstrating that the design of the Lego toy brick does not meet certain conditions required in order to benefit from the exception protecting modular systems, namely novelty and individual character.
Earlier the EUIPO considered that all the features of appearance of the Lego brick were solely dictated by the technical function of the product, namely to allow assembly with, and disassembly from, the rest of the bricks of the set.
However, in 2021, the General Court annulled EUIPO's decision T-515/19 EUIPO adopted a new decision rejecting the application for invalidity. It found that it had not been appropriate to cancel the protection for the Lego brick since that brick benefited from a specific exception laid down in EU law which allowed for the protection of modular systems.
It finds, on the basis of its case-law and adding to it, that a design is declared invalid only in the case where all its characteristics are excluded from protection. In this case, since some of the arguments made by Delta Sport Handelskontor concern only one of the characteristics amongst several upheld by EUIPO, those arguments must be held to be ineffective and, for that reason, dismissed.
The General Court also finds that Delta Sport Handelskontor, which bears the burden of proof in this context, had not provided evidence capable of demonstrating that the design of the Lego toy brick does not meet certain conditions required in order to benefit from the exception protecting modular systems, namely novelty and individual character.
