Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2020:583
Date: 2020-12-02
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Sweden

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based – Pleas in law not set out in the application – Reference to statement submitted to the Board of Appeal reproduced in the application – Inadmissibility (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 21, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 177(1)(d)) (see paras 16, 17) 3. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Registration contrary to Article 7 of Regulation No 40/94 – Relevant date for the examination of an absolute ground for nullity – Date of lodging the application for registration (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1) and 51(1)(a)) (see para. 19) 4. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service – Aim – Need to preserve availability (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(c) and 51(1)(a)) (see para. 27) 5. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service – Definition (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(c) and 51(1)(a)) (see paras 28, 29) 6. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – 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 (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(c) and 51(1)(a)) (see paras 30, 39) 7. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service – Word mark FOREX (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(c) and 51(1)(a)) (see paras 49, 53, 56, 63) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 4 October 2019 (Case R 2460/2018 2), relating to invalidity proceedings between Coino UK and Forex Bank. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Forex Bank AB to pay the costs.