Brussels, 26/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - The General Court of the EU has confirmed that the shape of the famous Rubik's cube could be registered as a three-dimensional Community trademark.
In its ruling of Tuesday 25 November (case T-450/09), the Court dismissed the action by German toy manufacturer Simba Toys seeking cancellation of the EU's Trademark Office (OHIM) decision to register the trademark. Simba Toys argued that the trademark involved a technical solution consisting of its rotating capability and that such a solution may be protected only by patent and not as a mark.
The Court found against Simba Toys, deciding that the graphic representation of the Rubik's cube does not involve a technical solution which would prevent it from being protected as a mark. The essential characteristics of the contested mark are, first, the cube per se and, second, the grid structure which appears on each of its surfaces. According to the Court, the bold black lines which form part of that structure and which appear on the three representations of the cube by criss-crossing the inside of those representations are not suggestive of any rotating capability of the individual elements of the cube and therefore do not fulfil any technical function. Consequently Rubik's cube as a Community trade mark cannot be refused on the grounds that the shape incorporates a technical function.
The Court adds that the mark in question does not allow its proprietor to prohibit third parties from marketing all types of three-dimensional puzzles that have a rotating capability. The proprietor's marketing monopoly is limited to three-dimensional puzzles that have the shape of a cube the surfaces of which bear a grid structure.
Lastly, in the view of the Court, the cubic grid structure of the mark in question differs considerably from the representations of other three-dimensional puzzles available on the market. That structure therefore has a distinctive character which enables consumers to identify the producer of the goods in respect of which the mark is registered. (FG)