Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2018:810
Date: 2018-11-20
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: United Kingdom

Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 20 November 2018 – St Andrews Links v EUIPO (ST ANDREWS) (Case T‑791/17) (EU trade mark — Application for the EU word mark ST ANDREWS — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — Geographical origin — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)) 1. 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 — Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign — Geographical names (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 21-26, 32, 33, 57) 2. 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 ST ANDREWS (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 38, 41, 44, 49, 58) 3. 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 — Aim — Need to preserve availability (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 40) 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 — Meaning (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 42, 52, 53) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 2 October 2017 (Case R 93/2017-4), relating to an application for registration of the word sign ST ANDREWS as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action;. 2. Orders St. Andrews Links Ltd to pay the costs.