Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2023:268
Date: 2023-05-17
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Single Judge
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Single Judge) of 17 May 2023 – Consulta v EUIPO – Karlinger (ACASA) (Case T‑267/22) (1) (EU trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – EU word mark ACASA – Absolute ground for invalidity – Lack of distinctive character – Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94 (now Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) – Obligation to state reasons – Article 94 of Regulation 2017/1001) 1. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Statement of reasons for decisions – First sentence of Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Scope identical to that of Article 296 TFEU – Recourse by the Board of Appeal to implicit reasoning – Whether permissible – Conditions (Art. 296 TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 94(1), first sentence) (see paragraphs 20, 21) 2. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Decisions of EUIPO – Failure to refer to means of obtaining redress – Irrelevant (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paragraph 22) 3. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Decisions of EUIPO – Clerical error – Irrelevant – Conditions (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paragraph 23) 4. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Assessment of distinctive character – Criteria (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(b) and 51(1)(a)) (see paragraphs 38, 39) 5. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Marks consisting of advertising slogans – Laudatory promotional formula (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(b) and 51(1)(a)) (see paragraphs 41, 51) 6. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Marks consisting of advertising slogans – Slogan conveying an objective message (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(b) and 51(1)(a)) (see paragraph 42) 7. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks devoid of distinctive character – Word mark ACASA (Council Regulation No 40/94, Arts 7(1)(b) and 51(1)(a)) (see paragraphs 44, 45, 47-50, 53-56) 8. EU trade mark – Decisions of EUIPO – Principle of equal treatment – Principle of good administration – EUIPO’s previous decision-making practice – Principle of legality – Need for a stringent and full examination in each individual case (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paragraphs 57, 58) 9. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Assessment of the registrability of a sign – Solely EU rules taken into account – Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries – Decisions not binding EU bodies (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paragraph 59) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Consulta GmbH to pay the costs. 1 OJ C 257, 4.7.2022.