Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 4March 2015—
FSA v OHIM— Motokit Veículos e Acessórios (FSA K-FORCE)
(Case T‑558/13)
Community trade mark— Invalidity proceedings— Community word mark FSA K-FORCE— Earlier Community word mark FORCE-X— Likelihood of confusion— Article8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No207/2009— Obligation to state reasons— Article75 of Regulation No207/2009
1.Community trade mark— Appeals procedure— Action before the EU judicature— Jurisdiction of the General Court— Declaratory judgments— Not included (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.65(3)) (see para.14)
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— Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.8(1)(b)) (see paras19-21, 53)
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— Similarity between the goods or services in question— Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.8(1)(b)) (see para.28)
4.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— Similarity of the marks concerned— Criteria for assessment— Composite mark (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.8(1)(b)) (see paras31-33)
5.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 FSA K-FORCE and FORCE-X (Council Regulation No207/2009, Art.8(1)(b)) (see paras54-60)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 5August 2013 (Case R436/2012‑2), relating to invalidity proceedings between Motokit Veículos e Acessórios, SA and FSA Srl. |
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
| Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 5August 2013 (Case R436/2012‑2); |
2. |
| Orders OHIM to pay the costs. |