Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2017:287
Date: 2017-04-27
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded

Judgment of the General Court (Seventh Chamber) of 27 April 2017 — Deere v EUIPO (EXHAUST-GARD) (Case T‑622/15) (EU trade mark — Application for the EU word mark EXHAUST-GARD — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptiveness — Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009 — Rights of the defence — Article 75 of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009) 1. EU trade mark — Decisions of the Office — Observance of the rights of the defence — Scope of the principle (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 75, second sentence) (see para. 12) 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 — Concept (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 24, 26-29, 42, 45) 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 — Word mark EXHAUST-GARD (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 46, 49) Re: ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 8 September 2015 (Case R 196/2014-4), concerning an application for registration of the word sign EXHAUST-GARD as an EU trade mark. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Deere & Company to pay the costs.