62022TJ0427_INF
Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 29 November 2023 –Coljnar v EUIPO – Barbarian Sports Wear (Barbarian fashion)
(Case T‑427/22) (
1
)
(EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for the EU figurative mark Barbarian fashion – Earlier EU word mark BARBARIAN – Relative ground for refusal – Likelihood of confusion – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)
1.
Judicial proceedings – Intervention – Failure by a party to the proceedings before EUIPO to comply with the time limit set out in Article 179 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court – Not possible to intervene under Article 173 of those rules
(Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 40, second para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Arts 173 and 179)
(see paragraphs 12, 13)
2.
EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Criteria for assessment
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraphs 17-19, 68)
3.
EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Similarity between the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment – Composite mark – Assessment of the distinctive character of an element of a trade mark
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraphs 24, 25, 28, 29, 33, 47)
4.
EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Figurative mark Barbarian fashion and word mark BARBARIAN
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraphs 35, 42, 50, 58, 66, 69-72)
5.
EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an identical or similar earlier mark registered in respect of identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Objective marketing considerations to be taken into account
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraph 57)
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders Ms Nataly Coljnar and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) each to bear their own costs;
3.
Orders Barbarian Sports Wear Inc. to bear its own costs in relation to the procedural documents which it has lodged.
(
1
)	OJ C 326, 29.8.2022.