Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2022:381
Date: 2022-06-22
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: United Kingdom

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 22 June 2022 – Unite the Union v EUIPO – WWRD Ireland (WATERFORD) (Case T‑739/20) (1) (EU trade mark – Revocation proceedings – EU word mark WATERFORD – Action for annulment – Article 63(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Admissibility – Trade mark liable to mislead the public – Article 51(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 58(1)(c) of Regulation 2017/1001)) 1. Fundamental rights – Right to effective judicial protection – Right to an effective remedy – Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47, first para.) (see para. 27) 2. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Jurisdiction of the General Court – Review of the legality of decisions of the Boards of Appeal – Annulment or variation for reasons appearing after judgment was delivered – Precluded (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 72(2) and 95) (see para. 33) 3. EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Action before the EU judicature – Jurisdiction of the General Court – Review of the legality of decisions of the Boards of Appeal – Re-examination of the facts in the light of evidence not previously submitted before EUIPO bodies – Precluded (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 188; European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 72 and 95) (see para. 34) 4. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Causes of revocation – Trade mark liable to mislead the public – Conditions (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(c)) (see paras 47, 50, 51) 5. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Probative value of the evidence – Opinion poll (see paras 56, 57) 6. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Causes of revocation – Mark liable to mislead the public – Word mark WATERFORD (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(c)) (see paras 49, 52, 65, 66) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Unite the Union to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by WWRD Ireland IPCO LLC; 3. Orders the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to bear its own costs. 1 OJ C 62, 22.2.2021.