Judgment;Information — ECLI:EU:T:2022:439
Date: 2022-07-13
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Slovenia

Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 13 July 2022 – Pejovič v EUIPO – ETA živilska industrija (RENČKI HRAM) (Case T‑284/21) (1) (EU trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – EU figurative mark RENČKI HRAM – Absolute ground for invalidity – Bad faith – Article 52(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 59(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)) 1. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Power of the General Court to alter the contested decision – Limits (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 72(3)) (see paragraphs 18, 85-87) 2. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Applicant in bad faith when filing the trade mark application – Criteria for assessment – Taking into account all relevant factors at the time of filing of the application for registration – Applicant’s knowledge that a third party is using an identical or similar sign – Intention of the applicant – Origin and use of the sign in dispute – Commercial logic underlying the registration of the contested sign as an EU trade mark – Chronology of events characterising the filing of the trade mark application (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 52(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 29-37) 3. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Applicant in bad faith when filing the trade mark application – Figurative mark RENČKI HRAM (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 52(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 70, 79-81) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 23 March 2021 (Case R 1050/2020-4); 2. Dismisses the action as to the remainder; 3. Orders EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Mr Edvin Pejovič for the purposes of the present proceedings and for the purposes of the proceedings before the Board of Appeal; 4. Orders ETA živilska industrija d.o.o. to bear its own costs. 1 OJ C 278, 12.7.2021.