Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2017:412
Date: 2017-06-21
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 21 June 2017 — Rare Hospitality International v EUIPO (LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE) (Case T‑856/16) (EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Equal treatment and the principle of sound administration) 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)) (see paras 22, 45) 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 — Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 23, 24, 30) 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 — Concept — 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. 25) 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 LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 31-33, 40-43) 5. 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) (see paras 52-57) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 12 September 2016 (Case R 2149/2015-5) concerning an application for registration of word sign LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Rare Hospitality International, Inc. to pay the costs.