Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2001:34
Date: 2001-01-31
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Second Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Concepts: Word marks;General
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade 
mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Trade marks which consist exclusively of 
signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product — 
Term VITALITE 
(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(c)) 
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade 
mark — Previous registration of the mark in certain Member States — Effect 
II - 449 
SUMMARY — CASE T-24/00 
1. Under Article 7(1) (c) of Regulation 
No 40/94 on the Community trade 
mark, 'trade marks which consist 
exclusively of signs or indications 
which may serve, in trade, to designate 
the... intended purpose... of the goods' 
are not to be registered. As regards, in 
that respect, the registration of the 
term VITALITE sought for certain 
goods having a specific medical, nutri­
tional or dietetic purpose and for 'food 
for babies' and 'mineral and aerated 
waters', that term, even if it is read in 
French as 'vitalité', cannot be regarded 
as being able to serve to designate the 
intended purpose of 'food for babies' 
or 'mineral and aerated waters'. The 
word 'vitalité' does not directly and 
immediately inform the consumer of 
one of the characteristics of 'food for 
babies' or 'mineral and aerated waters'. 
Consequently, the link between the 
meaning of the word 'vitalité', on the 
one hand, and the goods in question, 
on the other, does not seem to be 
sufficiently close to be caught by the 
prohibition laid down in Article 7(1)(c) 
of Regulation No 40/94. In fact it is a 
case of evocation and not designation 
for the purposes of that provision. 
Accordingly, registration of the term 
VITALITE cannot be refused, pursuant 
to the abovementioned provision, in 
respect of 'food for babies' or 'mineral 
and aerated waters', unlike all the 
other goods, which all have a specific 
medical, nutritional or dietetic pur­
pose. 
(see paras 18, 21, 24-25) 
2. Registrations of trade marks already 
made in Member States are only one 
factor which, without being given deci­
sive weight, may merely be taken into 
consideration for the purposes of regis­
tering a Community trade mark. 
(see para. 33) 
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