Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2018:709
Date: 2018-10-24
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Seventh Chamber, Extended Composition
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary — Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber, Extended Composition), 24 October 2018 1. Acts of the institutions — Temporal application — Procedural rules — Substantive rules — Distinction 2. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Version of Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation No 207/2009, resulting from Regulation 2015/2424 — Non-application to situations existing before it entered into force (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii); Council Regulation No 2015/2424) 3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Exception — Distinctive character acquired through use — Not applicable (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(e) and (3)) 4. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Definition — Interpretation in the light of the public interest underlying each of them (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii)) 5. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Identification of the essential characteristics of a sign — Account taken of relevant elements with the exception of elements which do not form part of the sign (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii)) 6. Community trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Absolute grounds for invalidity — Registration contrary to Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation No 40/94 — Figurative mark representing an L-shaped groove (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii); Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 52(1)(a)) 7. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Definition — Signs which consist of the shape of a part of the good which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Included — Condition (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii)) 1. See the text of the decision. (see para. 18) 2. Regulation 2015/2424 amending Regulation No 207/2009 on the European Union trade mark and Regulation No 2868/95 implementing Regulation No 40/94, and repealing Regulation No 2869/95 on the fees payable to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) amended the wording of Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation No 207/2009, which concerns a substantive rule and, more precisely, one of the absolute grounds on which a sign may be refused registration or, in conjunction with Article 52(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009, one of the absolute grounds on which a mark may be declared invalid. However, Regulation 2015/2424 entered into force on 23 March 2016 and it is not apparent from its terms, its objectives or its general scheme that Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation No 207/2009, in its version resulting from Regulation 2015/2424, should apply to situations existing before its entry into force. (see para. 20) 3. Marks which may be refused registration on the grounds listed in Article 7(1)(b) to (d) of Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark may, under Article 7(3) of that regulation, acquire a distinctive character by the use made of them. By contrast, a sign which is refused registration under Article 7(1)(e) of Regulation No 40/94 can never acquire a distinctive character for the purposes of Article 7(3) by the use made of it. Article 7(1)(e) thus concerns certain signs which are not such as to constitute trade marks and is a preliminary obstacle liable to prevent a sign consisting exclusively of the shape of a product from being capable of being registered. Consequently, if the examination of a sign under Article 7(1)(e) of Regulation No 40/94 leads to the conclusion that one of the criteria mentioned in that provision is met, this results in a release from examination of the sign under Article 7(3) of that regulation, since registration of the sign in such circumstances is clearly impossible. That release explains the advantage of undertaking a prior examination of the sign under Article 7(1)(e) of Regulation No 40/94 in the case where several of the absolute grounds for refusal provided for in paragraph 1 may apply, although such a release may not be interpreted as implying that there is an obligation to examine that sign first under Article 7(1)(e) of Regulation No 40/94. (see paras 34, 35) 4. See the text of the decision. (see paras 36-39) 5. See the text of the decision. (see paras 40-43, 50, 57, 67) 6. See the text of the decision. (see paras 48-74) 7. See the text of the decision. (see para. 69)