Case C‑421/13
Apple Inc.
v
Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt
(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundespatentgericht)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Trade marks — Directive 2008/95/EC — Articles 2 and 3 — Signs capable of constituting a trade mark — Distinctive character — Representation, by design, of the layout of a flagship store — Registration as a trade mark for ‘services’ connected with the products on sale in such a store)
Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 10 July 2014
1.        Approximation of laws — Trade marks — Directive 2008/95 — Signs capable of constituting a mark — Representation, by a design alone, without indicating the size or the proportions, of the layout of a retail store — Concept of ‘services’ — Services consisting of services relating to those goods — Included — Conditions
(European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/95, Arts 2 and 3)
2.        Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Jurisdiction of the Court — Limits — General or hypothetical questions — Question appearing to be abstract or purely hypothetical in relation to the subject-matter of the main proceedings — Inadmissibility
(Art. 267 TFEU)
1.        Articles 2 and 3 of Directive 2008/95 on trade marks must be interpreted as meaning that the representation, by a design alone, without indicating the size or the proportions, of the layout of a retail store, may be registered as a trade mark for services consisting in services relating to those goods but which do not form an integral part of the offer for sale thereof, provided that the sign is capable of distinguishing the services of the applicant for registration from those of other undertakings; and, that registration is not precluded by any of the grounds for refusal set out in that directive.
(see para. 27, operative part)
2.        A reference for a preliminary ruling from a national court must be rejected if it is quite obvious that the interpretation of EU law sought by that court bears no relation to the actual nature of the case or the subject-matter of the main action.
(see para. 30)