Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2024:49
Date: 2024-12-11;2024-01-31
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 31 January 2024 – Simpson Performance Products v EUIPO – Freundlieb (BANDIT) (Case T‑173/23) (1) ( EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for the EU word mark BANDIT – Earlier non-registered word mark BANDIT – Relative ground for refusal – Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Article 2(2)(g) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/625 – Identification of the goods and services on which the opposition is based ) 1. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an unregistered trade mark or other sign used in the course of trade – Conditions (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(4)) (see paragraph 17) 2. EU trade mark – Observations of third parties and opposition – Examination of the opposition – Notice of opposition – Identification of the goods and services forming the basis of the opposition – Obligation of EUIPO to invite the opponent to remedy deficiencies (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(4); Commission Regulation 2018/625, Arts 2(2)(g) and 5(5)) (see paragraphs 24-26) 3. 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) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 19 January 2023 (Case R 784/2022‑2); 2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder; 3. Orders EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Simpson Performance Products, Inc.; 4. Orders Andreas Freundlieb to bear his own costs. 1 OJ C 179, 22.5.2023.