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This is an informal case summary prepared for the purposes of facilitating exchange during the 2025 WIPO IP Judges Forum.

Session 1: Industrial Designs

Court of Justice of the European Union (Fifth Chamber) [2023]: Monz Handelsgesellschaft International mbH & Co. KG v Büchel Fahrzeugtechnik KG, Case C-472/21

Date of judgment: February 16, 2023

Issuing authority: Court of Justice of the European Union

Level of the issuing authority: Final Instance

Type of procedure: Judicial (Civil)

Subject matter: Industrial Designs

Plaintiff: Monz Handelsgesellschaft International mbH & Co. KG

Defendant: Büchel Fahrzeugtechnik KG

Keywords: Components of complex products, Visibility, Visibility of components, Normal use, Principal use, Customary use

Basic facts: The contested design is the backside of a saddle for bicycles or motorbikes. Assessing the nullification of the design, the German Federal Patent Court decided that the backside of a saddle as a component of a complex product (bicycle) does not remain visible during the intended use of the bicycle. The court stated that the underside of the saddle was not visible while riding the bike or when getting on or off. Storing a bicycle was no part of the riding process and therefore no part of the intended use. This also applied if the terrain required carrying the bicycle.

The Federal Court of Justice of Germany referred questions to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling.

Held: The European Court of Justice issued a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Article 3(3) and (4) of Directive 98/71/EC on the Legal Protection of Designs.

Relevant holdings in relation to industrial designs: In response to the German Federal Court of Justice’s request for a preliminary ruling, the European Court of Justice ruled as follows:

Article 3(3) and (4) of Directive 98/71/EC on the Legal Protection of Designs must be interpreted as meaning that the requirement of “visibility”, laid down in that provision, that is to be met in order for a design applied to or incorporated in a product which constitutes a component part of a complex product to be eligible to benefit from the legal protection of designs, must be assessed in the light of a situation of normal use of that complex product, so that the component part concerned, once it has been incorporated into that product, remains visible during such use. To that end, the visibility of a component part of a complex product during its “normal use” by the end user must be assessed from the perspective of that user as well as from the perspective of an external observer, and that normal use must cover acts performed during the principal use of a complex product as well as acts which must customarily be carried out by the end user in connection with such use, with the exception of maintenance, servicing, and repair work.

Based on this decision, the German Federal Court of Justice stated that “normal use” of the complex product (bicycle) does include its transport and storage.

Relevant legislation: Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 on the Legal Protection of Designs; German Act on the Legal Protection of Designs