Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2016:288
Date: 2016-05-12
Language of the case: Polish
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Poland

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 12 May 2016 — Atlas v EUIPO (EFEKT PERLENIA) (Case T‑298/15) EU trade mark — Application for the EU figurative mark EFEKT PERLENIA — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptiveness — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 1. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Aim — Need to preserve availability — Scope of the examination (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 19) 2. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — 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 paras 20, 21) 3. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service — Figurative mark EFEKT PERLENIA (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 24, 26, 27, 30) 4. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Separate examination of the grounds for refusal in relation to each of the goods or services covered by the application for registration — Obligation to state the reasons for refusing to register — Scope (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 75, first sentence) (see para. 25) 5. EU trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Legality — Examination by the EU judicature — Criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see para. 28) 6. EU trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Principle of equal treatment — Principle of sound administration — EUIPO’s previous decision-making practice — Principle of legality — Need for a strict and complete examination in each particular case (Council Regulation No 207/2009) (see para. 29) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 13 March 2015 (Case R 2352/2014-5) concerning an application for registration of the figurative sign EFEKT PERLENIA as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Atlas sp. z o.o. to pay the costs.