April 8, 2026
Can the unterside of a bicycle saddle enjoy design protection?
In March, the underside of our client’s bicycle saddle was back in court. The Federal Patent Court (Bundespatentgericht) ruled in favour of our client, Monz Handelsgesellschaft, and confirmed the design's validity. The Court granted leave to appeal again.
The case has gone through multiple courts, including the CJEU (ECJ C-472/21). The CJEU defined “normal use” broadly, including activities such as use, transport and storage, and confirmed that visibility must be assessed from the perspective of both the end user and an external observer.
Many thanks to our client Monz for their endurance!