Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2025:582
Date: 2025-06-11
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded;Action for annulment

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 11 June 2025 – KenWave Solutions v EUIPO (DYNAMIC RESPONSE IMAGING) (Case T‑505/24) ( EU trade mark – International registration designating the European Union – Word mark DYNAMIC RESPONSE IMAGING – Absolute ground for refusal – Descriptive character – Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Obligation to state reasons – Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 ) 1. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Statement of reasons for decisions – First sentence of Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001 – Identical scope to that of Article 296 TFEU (Art. 296, second para., TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 94(1)) (see paragraph 13) 2. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Concept (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraph 19) 3. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Assessment of the descriptive character of a sign – Criteria (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraphs 20, 39) 4. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Descriptive character of a sign – Circumstance necessarily implying absence of distinctive character of the sign (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b) and (c)) (see paragraph 21) 5. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Perception of the sign by the relevant public (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraph 25) 6. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Absolute grounds for refusal – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Word mark DYNAMIC RESPONSE IMAGING (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraphs 32, 35, 38, 40, 41, 43) 7. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Assessment of the registrability of a sign – EU rules only taken into account – Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries – Decisions not binding EU bodies (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paragraph 42) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders KenWave Solutions Inc. and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to each bear their own costs.