Industrial design, case II GSK 238/09
January 27th, 2010, Tomasz RychlickiThe Supreme Administrative Court in a judgment of 16 December 2009 case file II GSK 238/09 ruled that the essential features of the industrial design, are these characteristics that determine the overall impression that the design produces on the informed user. These are features of the shape/appearance which serve as a basis for identifying, distinguishing the design from other, already known designs. The forms of the industrial design differ (otherwise there would be no forms). But these differences include irrelevant features, i.e. those which do not affect the overall impression. The essential features, that decide on the overall impression are common for all forms of an industrial design. Forms of industrial design that are put in one application which are also having the essential features common, differ from each other only by features that are irrelevant. These forms are identical as defined in Article 103(1) – second sentence – of the IPL.
Designs shall also be deemed to be identical with those made available to the public if their features differ only in immaterial details.
This means that if some of the forms of the industrial design had already been made public, and lost its novelty, other forms, differing from them only by insignificant details, do not have the novelty characteristic, because they are considered by the law as identical, which means, they are devoid of the individual characteristic. This judgment was issued on the basis of the cassation complaint brought from the judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 11 December 2008 case file VI SA/Wa 1827/08. See “Industrial design case VI SA/Wa 1827/08“.
This judgment concerned the industrial design “Zadaszenie drzwi” (in English: door canopy), Rp-9201. See also “Polish regulations on industrial designs” and “Polish case law on industrial designs“.