Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 1March 2016—
Peri v OHIM (Multiprop)
(Case T‑538/14)
Community trade mark— Application for Community word mark Multiprop— Absolute grounds for refusal— Descriptive character— Article7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No207/2009— No distinctive character— Article7(1)(b) of Regulation No207/2009— Obligation to state reasons
1.Community trade mark— Appeals procedure— Action before the EU judicature— Jurisdiction of the General Court— Review of the lawfulness of decisions of the Boards of Appeal— Account taken by the General Court of matters of law and fact which have not been raised previously before the departments of OHIM— Not included (Rules of Procedure of the General Court (1991), Art. 135(4); Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 65(2)) (see para. 11)
2.Community trade mark— Procedural provisions— Examination of the facts of the Office’s own motion— Scope— No obligation to prove matters within common knowledge— Dispute before the General Court— Submission of documents to demonstrate the accuracy of a well-known fact (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 76(1)) (see para. 14)
3.Community trade mark— Procedural provisions— Statement of reasons for decisions— Article75, first sentence, of Regulation No207/2009— Scope identical to that of Article296 TFEU (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 75, first sentence) (see paras 21, 22)
4.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Absolute grounds for refusal— Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of goods— Aim— Need to preserve availability (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 33)
5.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Absolute grounds for refusal— Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service— Concept (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.7(1)(c)) (see para. 34)
6.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Absolute grounds for refusal— Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service— Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign— Criteria (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 35)
7.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community 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 Multiprop (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 36, 44, 45, 54)
8.Actions for annulment— Subject-matter— Decision based on several pillars of reasoning, each sufficient to justify the operative part— Decision on the acquisition of the Community trade mark— Pleas relating to an error or other illegality affecting only one of the pillars of reasoning— Action not founded (Art. 263 TFEU; Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.7) (see para. 42)
9.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Assessment of the registrability of a sign— Account to be taken only of Community legislation— Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries— Decisions not binding Community bodies (Council Regulation No207/2009) (see para. 46)
10.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Absolute grounds for refusal— Overlap between the scope of the grounds for refusal set out in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of Article7(1) of Regulation No207/2009 (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b) and (c)) (see paras 52, 53)
Re:
| ACTION for annulment of the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 29April 2014 (CaseR 1661/2013-1), concerning an application for registration of the word sign Multiprop as a Community trade mark. |
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
| Dismisses the action; |
2. |
| Orders Peri GmbH to pay the costs. |