First, as is clear from the very wording of Article 66(2) of Regulation No 207/2009, EU collective marks consisting of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the geographical origin of goods or services constitute EU collective marks within the meaning of paragraph 1 of that article. According to that paragraph, only trade marks that are capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the members of the association which is the proprietor of the trade mark from those of other undertakings may constitute EU collective marks.

Moreover, Article 4 of Regulation No 207/2009, which is applicable to collective marks by virtue of Article 66(3) of that regulation, provides, in essence, that only signs that are capable of distinguishing the commercial origin of the goods or services which they designate may constitute EU trade marks.

In that regard, the Court has repeatedly held that the essential function of a trade mark is to guarantee the origin of the goods to consumers, in the sense that it serves to identify the goods or services covered by the trade mark as originating from a particular undertaking and thus to distinguish those goods or services from those of other undertakings.

While the Court, furthermore, has already held that a trade mark may fulfil other functions than that of indicating origin which are equally worthy of protection against infringement by third parties, such as that of guaranteeing the quality of the goods or services which it designates, or those of communication, investment or advertising, it has nonetheless always emphasised that the essential function of a mark remains that of indicating origin.

Therefore, if it were held that the essential function of an EU collective mark within the meaning of Article 66(2) of Regulation No 207/2009 is to indicate the geographical origin of the goods or services offered under such a mark, and not to indicate their commercial origin, that would disregard that essential function.

Secondly, whilst Article 66(2) of Regulation No 207/2009 constitutes an exception to the absolute ground for refusal under Article 7(1)(c) of that regulation, that circumstance is not such as to call into question the fact that the essential function of an EU collective mark under Article 66(2) of Regulation No 207/2009 is to guarantee the collective commercial origin of the goods sold under that trade mark, and not to guarantee their collective geographical origin.

Moreover, the derogation in Article 66(2) of Regulation No 207/2009 from Article 7(1)(c) thereof is explained by the very nature of the sign covered by the collective marks referred to in that paragraph.

Thirdly, such geographical indications, on the one hand, and EU collective marks consisting of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the geographical origin of goods and services, on the other hand, are signs which are governed by distinct legal regimes and pursue different aims. Thus, whereas the EU trade mark is, in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation No 207/2009, a sign capable of distinguishing the commercial origin of goods or services, a geographical indication is, in accordance with Article 5(2) of Regulation No 1151/2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs, a name that identifies a product originating in a specific geographical area, whose quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin, and at least one of the production steps of which take place in the defined geographical area.

(see paras 50-54, 57, 58, 62)