Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2016:407
Date: 2016-07-14
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 14 July 2016 — Volkswagen v EUIPO (ConnectedWork) (Case T‑491/15) European Union trade mark — Application for European Union word mark ConnectedWork — Absolute ground for refusal — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) and Article 75 of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Obligation to state reasons 1. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Assessment of distinctive character — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 13, 14) 2. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Marks constituted of advertising slogans — Distinctive character — Application of specific criteria for assessment — Not permissible (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 15-17) 3. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Marks constituted of advertising slogans — Flattering promotional formula (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 18, 19, 32) 4. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word mark ConnectedWork (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 21, 26, 27, 31, 34, 35) 5. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Lack of distinctiveness — Trade mark made up of several elements — Possible for the competent authority to examine each of the elements making up the trade mark — Need to take account of the overall perception of the combination by the relevant public (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see para. 22) 6. EU trade mark — Procedural provisions — Statement of reasons for decisions — Article 75, first sentence, of Regulation No 207/2009 — Scope identical to that of Article 296 TFEU (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 75, first sentence) (see para. 39) 7. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Separate examination of the grounds for refusal in relation to each of the goods or services covered by the application for registration — Obligation to state the reasons for refusing to register — Scope (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(1)(b) and 75, first sentence (see paras 40, 41, 44, 46) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 29 June 2015 (Case R 160/2015-5) concerning an application for registration of the word sign ConnectedWork as a European Union trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Volkswagen AG to pay the costs.