Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2015:944
Date: 2015-12-08
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: France

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 8 December 2015 — Compagnie générale des établissements Michelin v OHIM — Continental Reifen Deutschland (XKING) (Case T‑525/14) Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community figurative mark XKING — Earlier national figurative mark X — Relative ground for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 1. Procedure — Rules on languages — Production of procedural documents in a language other than that of the case — Admissibility criteria (Rules of procedure of the General Court, Art. 46(2) and (3)) (see para. 15) 2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 22) 3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Similarity of the marks concerned — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 26-28, 35) 4. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Figurative mark XKING and figurative mark X (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 25, 57) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of OHIM of 5 May 2014 (Case R 1522/2013-4), relating to opposition proceedings between Compagnie générale des établissements Michelin and Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 5 May 2014 (Case R 1522/2013-4); 2. Orders OHIM to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Compagnie générale des établissements Michelin; 3. Orders Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH to bear its own costs.