Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2022:623
Date: 2022-10-12
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful

Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 12 October 2022 – MCO (IP) v EUIPO – C8 (C2 CYPRUS CASINOS) (Case T‑460/21) (1) (European Union trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for European Union figurative mark C2 CYPRUS CASINOS – Earlier national figurative mark C8 – Relative ground for refusal – Likelihood of confusion – Interdependence of factors – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Obligation to state reasons) 1. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Jurisdiction of the General Court – Direction issued to the Office – Exclusion (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 72(6)) (see paragraphs 17, 18) 2. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Jurisdiction of the General Court – Amendment of a decision by the Office – Assessment in the light of the powers conferred on the Board of Appeal (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 72(3)) (see paragraph 19) 3. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU 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 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 23-25, 46-51) 4. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Statement of reasons for decisions – First sentence of Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Scope identical to that of Article 296 TFEU – Recourse by the Board of Appeal to implicit reasoning – Lawfulness – Conditions (Art. 296 TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 41(2); European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 94(1), first sentence) (see paragraph 53) 5. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU 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 marks C2 CYPRUS CASINOS and C8 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 34, 36, 62) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office of the European Union for Intellectual Property (EUIPO) of 26 May 2021 (Case R 908/2020-2) in so far as it relates to services for which only a low degree of similarity was found; 2. Dismisses the remainder of the action; 3. Orders MCO (IP) Holdings Ltd, EUIPO and C8 to bear their own costs. 1 OJ C 412, 11.10.2021.