EU General Court Rules In Latest Rubik's Cube Case

After its patent rights expired, the owners of the iconic Rubik's Cube attempted to use trademark registrations to extend its protection. After decades of disputes, its black and white trademark and now its colour trademark have been found invalid, as Volha Parfenchyk explains.

Invented in 1974, the famous Rubik's Cube was protected by a patent for 20 years. When that patent expired, Seven Towns Ltd, the company that held the IP rights to the invention, attempted to extend its protection through trademark law. The company registered several trademarks, including the three-dimensional (3D) EU trademark 000162784 and EU trademark 009976788, which depict the cube in black and white and in colour, respectively.