Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2002:301
Date: 2002-12-05
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Concepts: Signs of which a trade mark may consist;Marks devoid of any distinctive character
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Provisional data;United States

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade 
mark — Signs capable of constituting a trade mark — Signs used also as promotional 
slogans — Condition — Distinctiveness 
(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(l)(b)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-130/01 
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade 
mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks devoid of any distinctive char­
acter — 'REAL PEOPLE, REAL SOLUTIONS' 
(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(l)(b)) 
1. Regis t ra t ion under Regula t ion 
No 40/94 on the Community trade 
mark of a trade mark which consists 
of signs or indications that are also 
used as advertising slogans, indications 
of quality or incitements to purchase 
the goods or services covered by that 
mark is not excluded as such by virtue 
of such use. However, a sign which 
fulfils functions other than that of a 
trade mark is only distinctive for the 
purposes of Article 7(l)(b) of the regu­
lation if it may be perceived immedi­
ately as an indication of the commer­
cial origin of the goods or services in 
question, so as to enable the relevant 
public to distinguish, without any 
possibility of confusion, the goods or 
services of the owner of the mark from 
those of a different commercial origin. 
(see paras 19-20) 
2. Under Article 7(1 )(b) of Regulation 
No 40/94 on the Community trade 
mark 'trade marks which are devoid 
of any distinctive character' are not to 
be registered. The registration of 
'REAL PEOPLE, REAL SOLUTIONS' 
for telemarketing (Class 35 of the Nice 
Agreement), computer hardware main­
tenance (Class 37), and technical sup­
port services for the computer industry, 
computer services, computer functional 
testing consulting services for computer 
software producers and users, cus­
tomer support services, database con­
version services, custom writing and 
text editing and translating services for 
product information for others, and 
navigational services (Class 42), is 
devoid of distinctive character. 
The sign is composed of a configur­
ation of words which, taken as a 
whole, have an independent meaning 
and is thus easily understood as sig­
nifying that the services consist in 
providing pragmatic solutions devised 
by and for real people. It will therefore 
be perceived by the relevant public 
primarily as a promotional slogan, 
based on its inherent meaning, rather 
than as a trade mark. 
(see paras 17, 26, 30) 
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