Information;Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2025:355
Date: 2025-04-02
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 2 April 2025 – Paul Hartmann v EUIPO – Medisept (MEDISET) (Case T‑429/24) ( EU trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – International registration designating the European Union – Word mark MEDISET – Absolute ground for invalidity – No distinctive character – Descriptive character – Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94 (now Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) ) 1. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Meaning (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraphs 18, 19) 2. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Assessment of the descriptive character of a sign – Criteria (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraphs 20, 26-28, 47, 50) 3. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Marks consisting exclusively of signs or indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of a product or service – Word mark MEDISET (Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paragraphs 31-38, 43, 44, 54) 4. EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Absolute grounds for invalidity – Assessment of the registrability of a sign – EU rules only taken into account – Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries – Decisions not binding EU bodies (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001) (see paragraph 53) Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Paul Hartmann AG to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Medisept sp. z o.o; 3. Orders the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to bear its own costs.