Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2007:171
Date: 2007-06-12
Language of the case: Spanish
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Concepts: Word marks
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Summary of the Judgment Community trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Marks devoid of any distinctive character (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(b)) The word mark TWIST & POUR, registration of which is applied for in respect of ‘Hand held plastic containers sold as an integral part of a liquid paint containing, storage and pouring device’ in Class 21 of the Nice Agreement, is devoid of distinctive character in relation to the products concerned for the purposes of Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation No 40/94 on the Community trade mark. The mark does not merely evoke or allude to certain characteristics of the product, but, on the contrary, directly describes a characteristic of the product concerned. The fact that the relevant public is directly informed of the ease of use of the product constitutes a sufficiently concrete and direct link between the mark applied for and the goods concerned. (see para. 55)