March 12, 2024
Global Legal Post
Instagram posts made by Rihanna invalidated Puma’s quest to register a shoe design. In 2014, the entertainment mogul posted pictures of herself wearing a pair of white trainers with a thick black sole. The images were reproduced in several articles in online newspapers. Puma then tried to register the design in 2016, however, the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled that the design was made public when it debuted on Instagram in 2014, thus cannot be protected. On 6 March 2024, the EU General Court upheld that decision.
Of Counsel Varuni Paranavitane, told the Global Legal Post that the decision was a reminder that while EU design law allows designers a grace period of 12 months to test products on the market before they file an application for a registered EU design right, "it is much harder to argue that any disclosures made prior to the 12-month period will not destroy novelty."
She added: "It illustrates that in-house PR and marketing departments and their legal teams should be aligned; particularly in relation to any disclosures to the public on social media or elsewhere."
Read “Rihanna Puts Her Foot in It Over Design Rights on Instagram”
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