Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2018:48
Date: 2018-01-31
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court of 31 January 2018 — Novartis AG v EUIPO — SK Chemicals (Figurative EU trade mark representing a transdermal patch) (Case T-44/16) 1 (EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — Figurative EU trade mark representing a transdermal patch — Absolute ground for refusal — Sign consisting exclusively of the shape of the product necessary to obtain a technical result — Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)) Language of the case: English Parties Applicant: Novartis AG (Basle, Switzerland) (represented: initially by M.R. Douglas, and subsequently by A. Nordemann-Schiffel, lawyers) Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented by: H. Kunz, acting as Agent) Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO intervening before the General Court: SK Chemicals GmbH (Eschborn, Germany) (represented by: R. Dissmann, J. Bogatz, and C. Lindenthal, lawyers) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 27 November 2015 (Case R 2342/2014-5), relating to invalidity proceedings between SK Chemicals and Novartis. Operative part of the order 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Novartis AG to pay the costs. ____________ 1 OJ C 111, 29.3.2016.