Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2020:129
Date: 2020-03-26
Language of the case: German
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Tenth Chamber) of 26 March 2020 – Muratbey Gida v EUIPO (Shape of a twisted cheese) (Case T‑572/19) (EU trade mark — Application for a three-dimensional EU trade mark — Shape of a twisted cheese — Absolute ground for refusal — No distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) 1. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of distinctive character — Meaning — Criteria for assessment (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 12, 13) 2. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of distinctive character — Assessment of distinctive character — Criteria — Perception of the trade mark by the relevant public (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see para. 16) 3. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of distinctive character — Three-dimensional trade marks consisting of the shape of the product itself — Distinctive character — Criteria for assessment (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 18, 19, 21, 33) 4. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of distinctive character — Three-dimensional mark consisting of the shape of a twisted cheese (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 23, 29, 32, 34) 5. 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 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paras 40, 41) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 13 June 2019 (Case R 108/2019-4) relating to an application for registration of a three-dimensional sign consisting of the shape of a twisted cheese as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Muratbey Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ to pay the costs.