Rubik’s Cube trademark contested

According to Maciej Szpunar, one of the Advocates General of the European Court of Justice, the trademark for the shape of the Rubik’s Cube should be abolished. Ernő Rubik’s invention has been a fan favourite for 42 years, origo.hu reports.

In 1999, the trademark of the Rubik’s Cube’s shape was registered at the European Union Intellectual Property Office. In 2006, the German Simba Toys requested the abolition of the trademark, saying that the technical solution, that is, the cube’s rotating capability should be patented, not trademarked. Their request was denied, and they took the case to the EU high court. The court ruled that the cube does not contain such mechanical solutions that would warrant the cancellation of the trademark.

However, no trademark should be issued in the case of products whose shape and structure are closely linked to their main function, the Advocate General argued in his statement on Tuesday. If the characteristics of the cube are reserved to the trademark holder, the competition’s options for releasing products that operate using the same technical solutions would be severely limited.

The opinion of the Advocate General is not binding, however, it is often considered and followed by the court.

Ernő Rubik, who was professor of architecture at the Budapest College of Applied Arts, initially intended the cube to be a demonstrational tool in the classroom. The 1974 prototype was made of wood and the sides were marked with different colours so the movement of the small cubes could be followed. He soon realised that it would make a great toy as well. It took the inventor himself a month to solve his own puzzle. Today, Rubik’s Cube world champions can do the same blindfolded, in less than 30 seconds.

Copy editor: bm

Source: origo.hu