This week - European CFI hears design appeal

Tomorrow Tuesday 19th January is the Hearing date for European Court of First Instance case T-153/08, Shenzhen Taiden v OHIM - Bosch Security Systems intervening. This is the second stage appeal on RCD 214903-0001, a conference call speakerphone. The design was upheld at first instance by the Invalidation Division of OHIM, but that decision was reversed on appeal, the Board of Appeal (in Decision R 1437/2006-3) taking a much broader view of the design freedom available to the designer of such products and hence finding the design too similar to the cited prior art. Since in Europe essentially the same test is applied for infringement as for validity, the CFI decision will affect both. Will they find the design valid (and consequently of narrow scope) or invalid (but potentially of broad scope)? Watch this space.