The German manufacturer of cosmetic applicators and packaging successfully defended its intellectual property rights against an attempt to invalidate one of its registered designs.
In October 2025, the Frankfurt District Court dismissed a cosmetics brand against which Geka had previously asserted its rights to cosmetic applicator designs. The court ruled that, although the brand’s models were not perfectly identical to the model registered by Geka, they did not produce a different overall impression and therefore fell within the protection granted to Geka. As a result, the brand was prohibited from using the model without Geka’s authorization, and the court recognized the latter’s right to seek damages. The judgment is now final, the brand having withdrawn its appeal.
In a subsequent decision issued in March 2026, after a counterclaim from the brand, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) also ruled in favor of Geka, confirming the validity of its rights to the design in question. The DPMA also considered that the design benefited from protection due to its distinctive characteristics and its unique character at the time of filing. This decision is also final.
According to Geka, the latter decision is of particular practical importance because the applicators in question came from countries outside the European Union and were subsequently imported and distributed in Germany by various retailers, under the defendant’s brand. This decision thus confirms that Products falling within the scope of registered design protection cannot be marketed in Germany if they infringe this protection, regardless of their origin or their main market.
Geka and the defendant had already been involved in a dispute regarding another applicator corresponding to the same model registered in Germany. Under the terms of the amicable agreement concluded at that time, the brand undertook to cease the sale of the disputed applicator in Germany and to refrain from marketing in the future any applicator counterfeiting the model. The Frankfurt Regional Court ruled that the sale of the applicators at issue in the present case constituted a violation of this earlier amicable agreement.
« Geka considers this decision an important victory and will continue to vigorously defend its rights and ownership over its exclusive applicator, the LipDEFINER, whose unique design is recognized by this recent judgment. », Says the manufacturer. “ Geka and the medmix group have already asserted their rights in numerous cases to protect their intellectual property and are more determined than ever to defend their intellectual property and to resort to justice for this purpose, if necessary ».
