PUMA: EU COURT ANNULS REGISTRATION OF SNEAKER MODEL

In 2016, Puma registered a community model of sneakers, with respect to which an application for invalidation was filed by the company HJVH.

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The EUIPO annulled the registration of the said design asserting that it had been disclosed by international pop star Rihanna, who, a year before the application for registration was filed, had worn a model of shoes having the same characteristics as the registered design.

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For the purposes of cancelling the registration, the EUIPO attributed particular relevance to photos posted on the singer's Instagram profile, in which she was wearing white sneakers with a thick black sole (characteristics identical to the registered model). These photos had then been reproduced in numerous newspaper articles, and it was therefore clear that the shoes had already been disclosed.

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Puma appealed this decision by turning to the EU General Court, which, however, upheld the invalidation of the registered design.

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In particular, the General Court agreed with the relevance attributed to the photos posted on social media by highlighting how the essential features of the sneakers were clearly visible to the naked eye or by enlarging the images.

Conversely, the arguments put forward by Puma were unconvincing, which claimed that the those shoes had not attracted any interest in 2014 and therefore there had been no disclosure of the design.

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However, the Tribunal pointed out the international fame the singer already enjoyed in 2014 and therefore her fans as well as fashion experts had undoubtedly paid attention to the sneakers she wore.Therefore, the EUIPO's decision was upheld due to the disclosure of the shoes at a date prior to the application for registration and, consequently, the design registration was cancelled.

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