Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2023:16
Date: 2023-01-25
Language of the case: English
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 25 January 2023 – De Dietrich Process Systems v EUIPO – Koch-Glitsch (SCHEIBEL) (Case T‑351/22) (1) (EU trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – EU word mark SCHEIBEL – Absolute ground for invalidity – Article 7(1)(c) and Article 51(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94 (now Article 7(1)(c) and Article 59(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)) 1. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service – Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign – Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraph 18) 2. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service – Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign – Determination of the relevant public (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraph 22) 3. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Registration contrary to Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009 – Word mark SCHEIBEL (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraphs 23-26) 4. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Power of the General Court to alter the contested decision – Limits (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 72(3)) (see paragraph 27) Operative part The Court: 1. Annuls the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 1 April 2022 (Case R 1107/2021-1); 2. Orders EUIPO to bear the costs. 1 OJ C 294, 1.8.2022.