Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2023:318
Date: 2023-06-07
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Slovenia

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 7 June 2023 – Medex v EUIPO – Stein (medex) (Case T‑419/22) (1) (EU trade mark – Revocation proceedings – EU figurative mark medex – Genuine use of the mark – Article 18 and Article 58(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Classification of the goods for which genuine use has been shown) 1. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Statement of reasons for decisions – First sentence of Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Scope identical to that of Article 296 TFEU (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 94(1), first sentence) (see paragraph 16) 2. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Decisions of EUIPO – Observance of the rights of the defence – Scope of the principle (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 94(1), second sentence) (see paragraph 18) 3. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Grounds for revocation – Lack of genuine use of the mark – Proof of use – Genuine use –Meaning – Criteria for assessment (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 58(1)(a) and 97(1)(f); Commission Regulation 2018/625, Arts 10(3) and (4) and 19(1)) (see paragraphs 26-29, 50) 4. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark –Classification of a product – Principle of classification in one class according to its function or purpose – Exception – Multipurpose composite object – Classification of the product in a number of classes because of its various functions or intended purposes – Whether permissible (see paragraph 37) 5. Approximation of laws – Medicinal products for human use – Directive 2001/83 – Classification of a product as a medicinal product by function – Criteria (European Parliament and Council Directive 2001/83, Art. 1(2), second para.) (see paragraph 38) 6. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Grounds for revocation – Lack of genuine use of the mark – Figurative mark medex (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 58(1)(a)) (see paragraphs 39-41, 51, 61, 66, 69, 70) 7. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Grounds for revocation – Lack of genuine use of the mark – Proof of use – Broad category of goods or services which may be subdivided into independent subcategories – Effect – Proof of use for each autonomous subcategory (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 58(2)) (see paragraph 49) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders each party to bear its own costs. 1 OJ C 326, 29.8.2022.