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Rubik’s Cube as a trademark?

The Rubik's Cube, a logical puzzle invented by Ernő Rubik, is known almost worldwide. However, not everyone is aware that the intellectual property rights to the puzzle are managed by the British company Seven Towns, and the Rubik's Cube itself was the subject of a long-running Community legal dispute. One could say that the beginning of the dispute over the cube was the decision issued in 1999 to register the cube as a Community (now European Union) trademark for the category of so-called three-dimensional puzzles in favor of the aforementioned company, Seven Towns. Subsequently, in 2006, the German toy manufacturer Simba Toys filed an application for the cancellation of the protection right for the above-mentioned trademark, arguing that the disputed trademark contains a technical solution that involves rotation, and this, in turn, can only be the subject of a patent, and not a trademark. This application was rejected by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Disagreeing with this decision, the German company appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which also rejected the appeal in November 2014 (T-450/09). The basis for the rejection of the appeal was the fact that the Rubik's Cube does not contain a technical function that would preclude its registration as a trademark.

Does the Rubik's Cube lack any technical features?

Despite the setbacks, Simba Toys appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, which ultimately led, in November 2016, to the annulment of the EU court’s ruling and the invalidation of the decision. According to the Court, the ability to rotate is related to the technical function. This marked the beginning of the German company’s path to ultimate success.

Re-examining the case, EUIPO, in its decision of June 19, 2017, annulled the contested right to the European Union trademark covering the Rubik’s Cube. According to the Office, the disputed mark possesses characteristics that are essential to achieve the technical effect, and the registration of such a shape is not possible under the relevant Community regulations. Consequently, the disputed trademark was registered in violation of European law.

The trademark was registered in violation of European law.

This time, the company belonging to the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube disagreed with this decision and filed a complaint. Ultimately, on October 24, 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the inventor. The Court, similarly to the first-instance body, stated that the characteristics of the Rubik’s Cube, i.e., the cubic shape, are closely related to its grid structure, which is formed by black lines, and to the function of being able to rotate individual smaller cubes. Therefore, in the case of the disputed trademark, it is possible to physically separate the individual, smaller cubes using the mechanism inside. Without this possibility, the cube would remain just an ordinary block, lacking individual character. As a result, the Court stated that the Rubik’s Cube cannot be a trademark.

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