Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2000:283
Date: 2000-12-05
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Fourth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Trade marks;Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
Concepts: Word marks
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of a Community trade mark — 
Absolute grounds for refusal — Trade marks devoid of any distinctive character — 
'electronica' 
(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(b)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE T-32/00 
2. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of a Community trade mark — 
Absolute grounds for refusal — Trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or 
indications which may serve to designate the characteristics of the goods — 
'electronica' 
(Council Regulation No 40/94, Art. 7(1)(c)) 
1. Under Article 7(1)(b) of Regulation 
No 40/94 on the Community trade 
mark, 'trade marks which are devoid 
of any distinctive character' are not to 
be registered. With regard to registra­
tion of the sign 'electronica' for cata­
logues and the organisation of trade 
fairs and conferences on electronic 
components and assemblies, that sign 
is not capable of constituting a Com­
munity trade mark because it is devoid 
of any distinctive character. The word 
'electronica' is almost identical to the 
word 'electronica' in Spanish and Por­
tuguese. The fact that there is no accent 
on the 'o' in the word 'electronica' is 
not an additional characteristic such as 
to render the sign, taken as a whole, 
capable of distinguishing the goods and 
services of one undertaking from those 
of other undertakings. 
(see paras 36-38) 
2. Under Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation 
No 40/94 on the Community trade 
mark, 'trade marks which consist 
exclusively of signs or indications 
which may serve, in trade, to designate 
the kind, quality, quantity, intended 
purpose, value, geographical origin or 
the time of production of the goods or 
of the rendering of the service, or other 
characteristics of the goods or service' 
are not to be registered. With regard to 
registration of the word 'electronica' 
for catalogues and the organisation of 
trade fairs and conferences for elec­
tronic components and assemblies, that 
word is not capable of constituting a 
Community trade mark because it 
describes, at least in Spanish and Por­
tuguese, an essential characteristic of 
the goods and services in question: it 
indicates the actual goods and services, 
not their link with the undertaking 
which makes or provides them. 
Accordingly the mark has no feature 
such as might differentiate it from its 
meaning as an actual description of the 
goods and services concerned. 
(see paras 41-42, 44) 
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