Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2019:38
Date: 2019-01-30
Language of the case: Portuguese
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 30 January 2019 – Arezzo Indústria e Comércio v EUIPO (SCHUTZ) (Case T‑256/18) (EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark SCHUTZ — Absolute grounds for refusal — Descriptive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)) 1. 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), replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 17) 2. 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 — Meaning (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c), replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 18, 19) 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 — Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c), replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 20, 24, 29) 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 — Word mark SCHUTZ (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c), replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 21, 25-27, 33-35) 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 (Council Regulation No 207/2009, replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see para. 31) 6. EU trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — EUIPO’s previous decision-making practice — Principle of legality — Need for a strict and complete examination in each particular case (Council Regulation No 207/2009, replaced by European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2017/1001) (see para. 32) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 12 February 2018 (Case R 661/2017-4) relating to registration of the word sign SCHUTZ as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Arezzo Indústria e Comércio, SA to pay the costs.