Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2016:295
Date: 2016-05-12
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

summary statement of reasons sufficient (Art. 296 TFEU) (see para. 36) 3. EU trade mark — Procedural provisions — Statement of reasons for decisions (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 75, first sentence) (see paras 37, 38) 4. 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 (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 53-55) 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 ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 57-65) 6. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Application for registration of a sign for all the goods or services falling within the same category — Assessment of the descriptiveness of the sign concerning all the goods or services (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 61) 7. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Trade marks which are devoid of distinctive character, descriptive or commonplace — Exception — Distinctive character acquired through use — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b) to (d), and (3)) (see paras 73-77) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 19 May 2014 (Case R 1425/2013-2), regarding an application for registration of the sign ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 19 May 2014 (Case R 1425/2013-2) in so far as it dismisses the appeal of Zuffa, LLC as regards the following goods and services: – ‘pre-recorded audio cassettes; phonograph records; compact discs; pre-recorded video cassettes; laser video discs; digital video discs; digital versatile discs; electronic storage media; USB flashdrives; CD-ROM discs all featuring mixed martial arts competitions, events and programs; motion picture films in the field of mixed martial arts’ in Class 9; – ‘provision of information relating to mixed martial arts via communication and computer networks; providing news and information in the fields of sports, fitness and mixed martial arts via communication and computer networks’ in Class 41; 2. Dismisses the present action as to the remainder; 3. 3. Orders Zuffa, LLC and EUIPO to bear their own costs.