Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2023:759
Date: 2023-11-29
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Slovenia

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 29 November 2023 – Coljnar v EUIPO – Barbarian Sports Wear (Barbarian fashion) (Case T‑427/22) (1) (EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for the EU figurative mark Barbarian fashion – Earlier EU word mark BARBARIAN – Relative ground for refusal – Likelihood of confusion – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) 1. Judicial proceedings – Intervention – Failure by a party to the proceedings before EUIPO to comply with the time limit set out in Article 179 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court – Not possible to intervene under Article 173 of those rules (Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 40, second para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Arts 173 and 179) (see paragraphs 12, 13) 2. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Criteria for assessment (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 17-19, 68) 3. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Similarity between the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment – Composite mark – Assessment of the distinctive character of an element of a trade mark (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 24, 25, 28, 29, 33, 47) 4. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Figurative mark Barbarian fashion and word mark BARBARIAN (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paragraphs 35, 42, 50, 58, 66, 69-72) 5. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Objective marketing considerations to be taken into account (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paragraph 57) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Ms Nataly Coljnar and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) each to bear their own costs; 3. Orders Barbarian Sports Wear Inc. to bear its own costs in relation to the procedural documents which it has lodged. 1OJ C 326, 29.8.2022.