Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2014:681
Date: 2014-07-16
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

summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Pleas in law not set out in the application — General reference to documents annexed to the application — Inadmissibility (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 21; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 44(1)(c)) (see paras 18, 19) 2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Three-dimensional mark constituted by the shape of the product — Shape of an alcoholic beverage bottle (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 35, 40-43, 51, 57) 3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Three-dimensional mark constituted by the shape of the product — Distinctive character — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 36-39) 4. Community trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — OHIM’s previous decision-making practice — Principle of legality — Need for a strict and complete examination in each particular case (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see para. 53) 5. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Prior registration of the trade mark in certain Member States — Effect (see para. 63) 6. Community 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 paras 72, 73) 7. Community trade mark — Procedural provisions — Examination of the facts of the Office’s own motion — Registration of a new trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Burden of proof (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 76(1)) (see para. 74) 8. Community trade mark — Conversion into national trade mark application — Application with a view to initiating the national procedure — Obligation to carry out a detailed analysis of the distinctive character of the sign in all Member States — None (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 75 and 112(2)(b)) (see paras 79-82) 9. Community trade mark — Procedural provisions — Recourse to the oral procedure — Discretion of the Office (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 77(1)) (see para. 88) 10. Actions for annulment — Grounds — Misuse of powers — Concept (Art. 263 TFEU) (see para. 94) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 22 November 2012 (Case R 129/2012-1), concerning an application for registration of a three-dimensional sign comprising the shape of an alcoholic beverage bottle as a Community trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Franz Wilhelm Langguth Erben GmbH & Co. KG to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM).