'Game over' for Rubik's Cube after EU court ruling - report

It's a case of 'game over' for the iconic Rubik's Cube after an EU Court of Justice ruling on a long-running trademark dispute relating to the puzzle.

EU trademark law sought to stop a company getting a monopoly on technical solutions or functional characteristics of a product, the court ruled.

This means the cube has lost the last round of its attempt to retain an EU trademark protection. It means that those who cannot solve the cube can now make one.

Two years ago, a lower European court decided that the puzzle's distinctive surfaces and their black grid-line pattern justified an EU patent, Bloomberg reported.

But in May this year, an adviser to the higher court contended EU judges should instead back the contention of Germanys' Simba Toys GmbH.

That company alleged trademark protection was not justified on grounds because the multi-coloured cube's shaped performed a purely technical function, the news agency reported.

Rubik's cube's intellectual property rights are managed by Seven Towns, a UK company.

Intellectual property lawyer Geert Glas, of Allen & Overy LLP in Brussels, was not surprised, stating the EU court was wary of trademarks becoming competitive obstacles for others.

"I'm afraid it's game over for the owners of the Rubik's Cube," he told the news agency.

The cube is named after Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik who made it in 1974.