Following a long standing legal battle, last week the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) decided that several shape marks protecting the Rubik’s Cube were to be invalidated on the basis that the essential characteristics of the shape are necessary to obtain a technical result and should not have been registered as an EU trade mark in the first place.
The dispute dates back to 2013 when Greek company Verdes Innovations SA, a competitor of Rubik’s Cube, asked the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to invalidate several trade marks owned by Rubik’s Brand Ltd for shape marks that protected the 2D and 3D visualisations of the Rubik’s Cube. The EUIPO held in favour of Verdes in 4 respective 2016 decisions.
The Rubik’s Cube brand was purchased by Spin Master Toys UK in 2020 who subsequently challenged the decisions before the GCEU on the basis that it believed the marks had essential characteristics which did not consist exclusively of the shape and which were not necessary to obtain a technical result.
Nevertheless, the GCEU agreed with the EUIPO’s decision and upheld the invalidations. Spin Master now have the option of appealing further to the Court of Justice of the European Union. However, it is unclear whether they will take this step given the various other protections it has for the Rubik’s Cube by way of copyright and design right.
If you have any questions on the above, feel free to contact a member of the team at 0191 281 4000 or alternatively at legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
