Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2026:146
Date: 2026-02-25
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Second Chamber
Procedure: Action for annulment
Origin: France

Judgment of the General Court of 25 February 2026 – Empreinte v EUIPO(Shape of a corkscrew) (Case T-437/25) 1 (EU trade mark – Application for a three-dimensional EU trade mark – Shape of a corkscrew – Absolute ground for refusal – Sign consisting exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result – Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Obligation to state reasons – Examination of the facts of EUIPO’s own motion – Article 94(1) and Article 95(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Right to sound administration – Article 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights – Legal certainty – Equal treatment) Language of the case: French Parties Applicant: Empreinte (Rochecorbon, France) (represented by: P. Martini-Berthon, lawyer) Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented by: D. Hanf, acting as Agent) Re: By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks the annulment of the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 29 April 2025 (Case R 127/2025-2). Operative part of the judgment The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Empreinte and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to each bear their own costs. ____________ 1 OJ C, C/2025/4630, 25.8.2025.