Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2020:81
Date: 2020-03-05
Language of the case: English
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Tenth Chamber) of 5 March 2020 – Dekoback v EUIPO — DecoPac (DECOPAC) (Case T‑80/19) (EU trade mark — Revocation proceedings — EU word mark DECOPAC — Genuine use of the mark — Article 51(1)(a) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 58(1)(a) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) — Evidence — Second sentence of Article 75 of Regulation No 207/2009 (now second sentence of Article 94(1) of Regulation 2017/1001) — Right to be heard) 1. EU trade mark — Procedural provisions — Decisions of EUIPO — Observance of the rights of the defence — Scope of the principle (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 63(2) and Art. 75, second sentence) (see paras 33, 34, 39) 2. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Examination of the application — Proof of use of the earlier mark — Genuine use — Definition — Assessment criteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(a); Commission Regulation No 2868/95, Art. 1, rule 22(2)) (see paras 43-46, 62, 66, 70) 3. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Examination of the application — Proof of use of the earlier mark — Genuine use — Definition — Assessment criteria — Determination of a minimal quantitative use threshold — Not included (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(a)) (see paras 49, 50) 4. EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Causes of revocation — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — Proof of use — Genuine use — Definition — Assessment criteria — Company name, commercial name or trade name (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(a); Commission Regulation No 2868/95, Art. 1, rule 22(2)) (see paras 60, 61) 5. EU trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Review of the lawfulness of decisions of the Boards of Appeal — Re-examination of the facts in the light of evidence not previously submitted before EUIPO bodies — Not included (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65(2)) (see para. 73) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 26 November 2018 (Case R 1795/2017-5), relating to revocation proceedings between Dekoback and DecoPac. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Dekoback GmbH to pay the costs.