Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 20 January 2021 –

Stada Arzneimittel v EUIPO – Optima Naturals (OptiMar)

(Case T‑261/19)

(EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for the EU figurative mark OptiMar – Earlier national word mark Mar – Relative ground for refusal – No likelihood of confusion – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now 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 earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 19, 20, 67)

2. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Figurative mark OPTIMAR and word mark MAR (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 21, 29, 46, 50, 56, 61, 65, 66, 71-73)

3. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Similarity between the goods or services in question – Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 22)

4. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Similarity of the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 30)

5. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Similarity of the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment – Composite mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 31, 32, 34)

6. EU trade mark – Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark – Relative grounds for refusal – Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Similarity of the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment – Degree of distinctiveness of the earlier trade mark – Not included (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 33)

7. EU trade mark – Procedural provisions – Examination of the facts of EUIPO’s own motion – Opposition proceedings – Examination restricted to the facts, evidence and arguments provided – Well-known facts taken into account (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 95(1)) (see paras 42, 43)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 31 January 2019 (Case R 1348/2018-1), relating to opposition proceedings between Stada Arzneimittel and Optima Naturals.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;