Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2018:254
Date: 2018-05-04
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 4 May 2018 – Bernard Krone Holding v EUIPO (Mega Liner) (Case T‑187/17) (EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark Mega Liner — Absolute grounds for refusal — Descriptive character — No distinctive 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) — Obligation to state reasons — Article 75, first sentence, of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001)) 1. EU 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 para. 21) 2. Actions for annulment — Pleas in law — Infringement of essential procedural requirements — Inadequate statement of reasons — To be considered of the Court’s own motion — Obligation to comply with the audi ateram partem principle (Arts 263 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see para. 22) Re: Action brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 9 January 2017 (Case R 442/2016-1) concerning an application for registration of the word mark Mega Liner as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls paragraph 2 of the operative part of the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 9 January 2017 (Case R 442/2016–1); 2. Orders EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG in the proceedings before the General Court.