In its judgment of April 22, 2026, in Case T-228/25, the General Court of the European Union confirmed the invalidity of the EU design for the well-known Crocs clog, finding that it lacked individual character.
The EUIPO had granted a request for invalidation, finding that the Crocs design was not sufficiently distinct from a clog that had already been made public prior to the priority date. Crocs had challenged the decision, arguing that its design was valid both because of the designer’s limited scope of freedom – due to technical constraints – and because of the product’s worldwide reputation.
The General Court rejected both of these arguments.
Firstly, it found that the designer’s degree of freedom was indeed high, as the designer could vary materials, colors, patterns, and -above all – the number, shape, size and position of the holes. The only difference between Crocs’ design and the prior art was identified as the presence of a movable heel strap with large rivets, an element deemed insufficient to distinguish the design from the prior model. In fact, the two clogs shared essential characteristics such as general shape, a rounded and closed toe, a thick sole, circular holes, and trapezoidal cutouts. The Court also reiterated that the commercial success and reputation of the product are irrelevant in assessing individual character, which must be based on an objective comparison of the overall impression produced by the designs.
