Judgment of the General Court of 16 February 2017 – Antrax It v EUIPO – Vasco Group (Thermosiphons for radiators)

(Joined Cases T-828/14 and T-829/14) ¹

(Community design — Invalidity proceedings — Registered Community designs representing thermosiphons for radiators — Earlier designs — Plea of unlawfulness — Article 1(d) of Regulation (EC) No 216/96 — Article 41(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights — Principle of impartiality — Composition of the Board of Appeal — Ground for invalidity — No individual character — Article 6 and Article 25(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 — Enforcement by EUIPO of a judgment setting aside a decision of one of its Boards of Appeal — Saturation of the state of the art – Date of assessment)

Language of the case: Italian

Parties

Applicant: Antrax It Srl (Resana, Italy) (represented by: L. Gazzola, lawyer)

Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented initially by M. P. Bullock, and subsequently by L. Rampini and S. Di Natale, acting as Agent)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, intervening before the General Court: Vasco Group NV, formerly Vasco Group BVBA (Dilsen, Belgium) (represented by: J. Haber, lawyer)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the Third Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 10 October 2014 (Cases R 1272/2013-3 and R 1273/2013-3) relating to invalidity proceedings between Vasco Group BVBA and Antrax It.

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1.    Dismisses the appeals;

2.    Orders Antrax It Sarl to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and Vasco Group, including those incurred by Vasco Group NV for the proceedings before the Board of Appeal in Cases R 1272/2013-3 and R 1273/2013-3.

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¹     OJ C 65, 23.2.2015.