Puma has faced yet another defeat in its attempt to protect its creeper shoe design at the EU Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”).
On 06 March 2024, the EUIPO upheld its previous decision to declare Puma’s registered design right over its “Puma Creeper Shoe” invalid as the trainers had previously been posted to Rihanna’s social media account.
Puma applied to register a community design for the trainer in July 2016. However, the design had previously appeared in an Instagram post by singer, Rihanna, back in a 2014 when Rihanna announce her collaboration with the brand.
Designers are given a period of 12-month grace period to register their designs before the EUIPO and the UK Intellectual Property Office after they have been publicly disclosed. Therefore, in their recent decision, the EUIPO ruled that the design is invalid as Puma did not apply register the design within the 12 month grace period of Rihanna making first public disclosure.
This matter has been ongoing since 2019, when a declaration of invalidity was made by a Dutch footwear company. The decision reiterates the importance of filing applications before the expiry of the grace period.
If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
