Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 12 July 2019 –Café del Mar and Others v EUIPO — Guiral Broto (Café del Mar)
(Case T‑772/17)
(EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — EU figurative mark Café del Mar — Absolute ground for refusal — Bad faith — Article 52(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 59(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001))
1.      EU trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Direction addressed to the Office — Precluded
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65(6))
(see para. 19)
2.      EU trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark — Assessment of the registrability of a sign — EU rules only taken into account — Decisions of national authorities not binding EU bodies
(Council Regulation No 207/2009)
(see para. 24)
3.      EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Absolute grounds for invalidity — Applicant in bad faith when lodging the trade mark application — Criteria for assessment — Taking into account of all relevant factors at the time of filing the application for registration — Applicant’s knowledge that a third party is using an identical or similar sign — Intention of the applicant — Degree of legal protection of the signs at issue — Commercial logic underlying the registration of the contested sign as an EU trade mark — Chronology of events characterising the filing of the trade mark application — Origin of the sign at issue and its use since its creation
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 52(1)(b))
(see paras 31-35)
4.      EU trade mark — Surrender, revocation and invalidity — Absolute grounds for invalidity — Applicant in bad faith when lodging the trade mark application — Marque figurative Café del Mar
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 52(1)(b))
(see paras 48, 49, 51-56)
Re:
Action brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 4 September 2017 (Case R 1540/2015-5), relating to invalidity proceedings between, on the one hand, Café del Mar, Mr Les Viamonte and Mr Andrea González and, on the other, Mr Guiral Broto.
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Annuls the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 4 September 2017 (Case R 1540/2015-5);
2.
Orders EUIPO to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by Café del Mar SC, Mr José Les Viamonte and Mr Carlos Andrea González in the proceedings before the General Court;
3.
Orders Mr Ramón Guiral Broto to bear his own costs and to pay those incurred by Café del Mar, Mr Les Viamonte and Mr Andrea González in the proceedings before the Board of Appeal.