Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2017:380
Date: 2017-06-08
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 8 June 2017 — Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel v EUIPO — Tiertafel Deutschland (Tafel) (Case T‑326/16) (EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — EU word mark Tafel — Enforcement by EUIPO of a judgment setting aside a decision of one of its Boards of Appeal — Absolute ground for refusal — Article 52(1)(a) and Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Descriptive character — Article 65(6) of Regulation No 207/2009 — Decision taken following the annulment by the General Court of an earlier decision) 1. Actions for annulment — Judgment annulling a measure — Effects — Obligation to implement — Scope — Both the operative part and the grounds of the judgment to be taken into account — Retroactive effect of annulment (Art. 266 TFEU) (see paras 18, 19) 2. EU trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Implementation of a judgment annulling a decision adopted by a Board of Appeal — New examination of the appeal (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65(6)) (see paras 20-22) 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. 32) 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 — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 33-37) 5. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Absolute grounds for invalidity — Registration contrary to Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009 — Word mark Tafel (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 39-44) 6. EU trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Review of the lawfulness of decisions of the Boards of Appeal — Re-examination of the facts in the light of evidence not previously submitted before EUIPO bodies — Precluded (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65) (see para. 46) 7. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Exception — Acquisition through use — Examination by the Office — Limitation to the facts and evidence raised by the trade mark applicant (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(3)) (see para. 49) 8. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Assessment of the registrability of a sign — EU rules only taken into account — Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries — Decisions not binding EU bodies (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see para. 51) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 4 April 2016 (Case R 248/2016-4), relating to invalidity proceedings between Tiertafel Deutschland and Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Bundesverband Deutsche Tafel eV to pay the costs.