Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2015:208
Date: 2015-04-16
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 April 2015 — Drogenhilfe Köln Projekt v OHIM (Rauschbrille) (Case T‑319/14) Community trade mark — Application for Community word mark Rauschbrille — Absolute grounds for refusal — Descriptiveness — Lack of distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal – Interpretation in the light of the underlying public interest — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009 — Aim — Need to preserve availability (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 14) 2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Concept (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 15-17) 3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Neologism consisting of elements descriptive of characteristics of the goods or services concerned — Whether included where the nature of the combination is not unusual (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 18) 4. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community 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 Rauschbrille (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 22-24) 5. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Assessment of distinctive character — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 32, 33) 6. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive character — Word mark Rauschbrille (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 34-36) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 29 January 2014 (Case R 1356/2013-1), concerning an application for registration of the word sign Rauschbrille as a Community trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Drogenhilfe Köln Projekt gGmbH to pay the costs.