Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2023:147
Date: 2023-03-22
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 22 March 2023 – Beauty Biosciences v EUIPO – Société de Recherche Cosmétique (BIO-BEAUTÉ) (Case T‑750/21) (1) (EU trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – EU word mark BIO-BEAUTÉ – Absolute grounds for refusal – Descriptiveness – Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) – No distinctive character – Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation 2017/1001) – Distinctive character acquired through use – Article 7(3) of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 7(3) of Regulation 2017/1001) – Article 52(1)(a) and (2) of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 59(1)(a) and (2) of Regulation 2017/1001) – Obligation to state reasons – Article 75, first sentence, of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 94(1), first sentence, of Regulation 2017/1001)) 1. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Statement of reasons for decisions – Article 94(1), first sentence, 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 paragraphs 18, 19) 2. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Power of the General Court to alter the contested decision – Limits (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 72(3)) (see paragraph 29) 3. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Exception – Distinctive character acquired through use – Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(3) and 52(2)) (see paragraphs 37-42, 52) 4. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Exception – Distinctive character acquired through use – Burden of proof (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(3) and 52(2)) (see paragraph 43) 5. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Exception – Distinctive character acquired through use – Trade mark devoid of distinctive character throughout the Union – Acquisition through use also throughout the Union (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(3) and 52(2)) (see paragraph 49) 6. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Registration contrary to Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation No 207/2009 – Exception – Distinctive character acquired through use – Word mark BIO-BEAUTÉ (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(1)(b) and (c), 7(3) and 52(2)) (see paragraphs 50, 58-61) 7. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Exception – Distinctive character acquired through use – Evidential value of the evidence (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(3) and 52(2)) (see paragraph 57) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 28 September 2021 (Joined Cases R 1871/2020-4 and R 1891/2020-4) in so far as it concerns ‘perfumes, toilet water, eau de Cologne; essential oils; incense, perfume water’ and ‘dentifrices’; 2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder; 3. Orders each party to bear its own costs incurred in the course of the proceedings before the General Court. 1 OJ C 51, 31.1.2022.