Action brought on 13 September 2021 – Tinnus Enterprises v EUIPO – Mystic Products and Koopman International (Fluid distribution equipment)

(Case T-577/21)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Tinnus Enterprises LLC (Plano, Texas, United States) (represented by: T. Wuttke, lawyer)

Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

Other parties to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal: Mystic Products Import & Export, SL (Badalona, Spain), Koopman International BV (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Details of the proceedings before EUIPO

Proprietor of the design at issue: Applicant before the General Court

Design at issue: Community design No 1 431 829-0007

Contested decision: Decision of the Third Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 5 July 2021 in Case R 1010/2018-3

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

annul the contested decision;

alter the contested decision to:

allow the applicant’s appeal,

dismiss in its entirety the invalidity applicants’ applications to declare the contested design invalid,

order the invalidity applicants to pay the applicant’s costs in front of the Board of Appeal and the Invalidity Division;

order the invalidity applicants to pay the applicant’s fees and costs.

Pleas in law

Infringement of the principles set forth in the judgment of 24 March 2021, Lego v EUIPO – Delta Sport Handelskontor (Building block from a toy building set) (T-515/19, not published, EU:T:2021:155);

Infringement of the principles set forth in the judgment of 8 March 2018, DOCERAM (C-395/16, EU:C:2018:172);

Infringement of Article 8(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002;

Misinterpretation of patent application EP 3 005 948 A2 and the applicant’s multiple design application No. 1 431 829-0001-0010.

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