Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2019:612
Date: 2019-09-17
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 17 September 2019 – TrekStor v EUIPO (Theatre) (Case T‑399/18) (EU trade mark — Application for EU word mark Theatre — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — No distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) 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 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 15) 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 — Meaning (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 16-18) 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 — Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign — Criteria (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 19) 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 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 7(1) and 94(1), first sentence) (see para. 28) 5. 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 — Word mark Theatre (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 38, 39, 45, 48, 49, 52, 53) 6. EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Absolute grounds for refusal — Overlap of the scope of the grounds set out in Articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 2017/1001 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b) and (c)) (see paras 57, 58) Re: Action brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 26 April 2018 (Case R 2238/2017-2) relating to an application for registration of the word sign Theatre as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders TrekStor Ltd to pay the costs.