62024TJ0398_INF
Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 7 May 2025 –Carl Freudenberg v EUIPO – Cadeinor – Mobiliário de escritório integrado (SOUNDLESS)
(Case T‑398/24)
(EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for EU figurative mark SOUNDLESS – Earlier EU word mark SOUNDTEX – Relative ground for refusal – No likelihood of confusion – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001)
1.
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 16, 53)
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 – Similarity between the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraphs 21, 22, 24, 30, 34)
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 – Assessment only on the basis of the dominant element of a composite mark – Conditions
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraph 25)
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 SOUNDLESS and word mark SOUNDTEX
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraphs 31, 36, 37, 43, 46, 50)
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 – Enhanced distinctiveness of the earlier mark – Criteria for assessment
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paragraph 54)
6.
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 – Refusal to register where there is a relative ground for refusal, even if limited to part of the European Union
(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 1(2), 7(2) and 8(1)(b))
(see paragraph 55)
Operative part
The Court:
1.
Dismisses the action;
2.
Orders each party to bear its own costs.