Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2017:886
Date: 2017-12-12
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: United Kingdom

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 12 December 2017 — Sony Computer Entertainment Europe v EUIPO — Vieta Audio (Vita) (Case T‑35/16) (EU trade mark — Revocation proceedings — EU word mark Vita — Genuine use of the mark — Article 51(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 58(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) — Use in connection with the goods in question — Obligation to state reasons) 1. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Causes of revocation — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — Proof of use of the earlier mark — Genuine use — Meaning — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 15(1)(a) and 51(1)(a); Commission Regulation No 2868/95, Arts 1, Rule 22(3) and (4), and 40(5)) (see paras 33-37) 2. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Causes of revocation — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — Proof of use of the earlier mark — Genuine use — Application of the criteria to the case in question (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 15(1)(a) and 51(1)(a); Commission Regulation No 2868/95, Arts 1, Rule 22(3) and (4), and 40(5)) (see para. 38) 3. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Causes of revocation — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — Word mark Vita (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 15(1)(a) and 51(1)(a)) (see paras 39-43, 50-54, 58, 59) 4. EU trade mark — Procedural provisions — Statement of reasons for decisions — First sentence of Article 75 of Regulation No 207/2009 — Scope identical to that of Article 296 TFEU (Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 75, first sentence) (see paras 44, 45) 5. EU law — Principles — Rights of defence — Audi alteram partem rule — Compliance in the context of judicial proceedings (Art. 263 TFEU) (see paras 47, 48) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 12 November 2015 (Case R 2232/2014-5), relating to revocation proceedings between Vieta Audio and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 12 November 2015 (Case R 2232/2014-5), relating to revocation proceedings between Vieta Audio, SA and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd; 2. Orders EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe; 3. Orders Vieta Audio to bear its own costs.