This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 62016TO0402
Order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 20 September 2017.
Berliner Stadtwerke GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office.
EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark berlinGas — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Action manifestly unfounded in law.
Case T-402/16.
Order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 20 September 2017.
Berliner Stadtwerke GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office.
EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark berlinGas — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Action manifestly unfounded in law.
Case T-402/16.
Court reports – general – 'Information on unpublished decisions' section
Order of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 20 September 2017 — Berliner Stadtwerke v EUIPO (berlinGas)
(Case T‑402/16)
(EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark berlinGas — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Action manifestly unfounded in law)
1. |
EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Aim—Need to preserve availability (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 14) |
2. |
EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Concept—Mark composed of a word or neologism resulting from a combination of elements (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 15-19, 26) |
3. |
EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Assessment of the registrability of a sign—EU rules only taken into account—Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries—Decisions not binding EU bodies (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see para. 30) |
4. |
EU trade mark—Decisions of the Office—Principle of equal treatment—Principle of sound administration—EUIPO’s previous decision-making practice—Principle of legality—Need for a strict and complete examination in each particular case (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see paras 31-34) |
5. |
EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Word mark berlinGas (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 36, 39, 40) |
Re:
ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 12 May 2016 (Case R 291/2016-1), relating to the application for registration of the word sign berlinGas as an EU trade mark.
Operative part
1. |
The action is dismissed. |
2. |
Berliner Stadtwerke GmbH is ordered to pay the costs. |