MOSCOW, November 25 (RAPSI) – General Court of the European Union validated Rubik’s Cube shape as a separate trademark, according to the court’s press release made public on Tuesday.

The statement reads, that in 1999 ,Seven Towns, a UK company which manages inter alia intellectual property rights relating to the ‘Rubik’s Cube’, in 1999 registered the shape of the cube with the EU’s Trademark Office (OHIM).

In 2006, Simba Toys, a German toy manufacturer, applied to OHIM to have the three-dimensional mark cancelled on the ground inter alia that it involves a technical solution consisting of its rotating capability, since such a solution may be protected only by patent and not as a mark. OHIM dismissed its application and Simba Toys therefore brought an action before the General Court for annulment of OHIM’s decision

The court ruled that the registration of the shape of the Rubik’s cube as a trade mark cannot be refused on the ground that that shape incorporates a technical function.

In addition, the press release says that the court finds that 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 distinctive character which enables consumers to identify the producer of the goods in respect of which the mark is registered.