Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 10 July 2012—
Clorox v OHIM—
Industrias Alen (CLORALEX)
(Case T-135/11)
Community trade mark— Opposition proceedings— Application for Community word mark CLORALEX— Earlier national word marks CLOROX— Relative ground for refusal— Likelihood of confusion— Similarity of the signs— Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009
1.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Relative grounds for refusal— Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services— Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark— Assessment of the likelihood of confusion— Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 17, 22, 44)
2.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Relative grounds for refusal— Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services— Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark— Assessment of the likelihood of confusion— Attention level of the public (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 19)
3.Community trade mark— Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark— Relative grounds for refusal— Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services— Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark— Word marks CLORALEX and CLOROX (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art.8(1)(b)) (see paras 20, 43, 46)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of OHIM of 16 December 2010 (Case R521/2009‑4) concerning opposition proceedings between The Clorox Company and Industrias Alen SA de CV. |
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
| Annuls the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 16 December 2010 (Case R521/2009‑4); |
2. |
| Orders OHIM to bear its own costs and pay the costs incurred by The Clorox Company; |
3. |
| Orders Industrias Alen SA de CV to bear its own costs. |