Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2013:342
Date: 2013-07-03
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 3 July 2013 — GRE v OHIM — Villiger Söhne (LIBERTE american blend against a red background) (Case T‑206/12) Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for the Community figurative mark LIBERTE american blend — Earlier Community word mark La LIBERTAD — Relative ground for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 1. 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 — Assessment of the likelihood of confusion — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 19-21, 53) 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 — Figurative mark LIBERTE american blend and word mark La LIBERTAD (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 23, 31, 40, 45, 52, 55) 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 between the goods or services in question — Criteria for assessment Complementary nature of the goods (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 24) 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 — Similarity of the marks concerned — Criteria for assessment — Complex mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 32, 33) 5. 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 — Weak distinctive character of the earlier mark — Relevance (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 59) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 1 March 2012 (Case R 411/2011‑1), relating to opposition proceedings between Villiger Söhne GmbH and GRE Grand River Enterprises Deutschland GmbH. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders GRE Grand River Enterprises Deutschland GmbH to pay the costs.