Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2021:864
Date: 2021-12-08
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Cyprus

Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 8 December 2021 – Cyprus v EUIPO – Fontana Food (GRILLOUMI) (Case T‑556/19) (EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for the EU word mark GRILLOUMI – Earlier national certification word marks ΧΑΛΛΟΥΜΙ HALLOUMI – Relative ground for refusal – No likelihood of confusion – Similarity between services and goods – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)) 1. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 29-31) 2. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Similarity between the goods or services in question – Criteria for assessment – Complementary nature of the goods or services (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 38, 40, 41) 3. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Word mark GRILLOUMI – Word marks ΧΑΛΛΟΥΜΙ HALLOUMI (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 39, 42, 43, 45) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 29 May 2019 (Case R 1284/2018-4) relating to opposition proceedings between the Republic of Cyprus and Fontana Food. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 29 May 2019 (Case R 1284/2018-4); 2. Orders EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Republic of Cyprus; 3. Orders Fontana Food AB to bear its own costs.