Judgment of the General Court (Sixth Chamber) of 11 July 2018 –

Link Entertainment v EUIPO — García-Sanjuan Machado (SAVORY DELICIOUS ARTISTS & EVENTS)

(Case T‑694/17)

(EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — EU figurative mark SAVORY DELICIOUS ARTISTS & EVENTS — Earlier EU word mark AVORY — Relative ground for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Similarity of the signs — Similarity of the services — Articles 8(1)(b) and 53(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Articles 8(1)(b) and 60(1)(a) 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 17, 18, 48)

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—Assessment of the likelihood of confusion—Determination of the relevant public—Attention level of the public (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 19)

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—Complementary nature of the goods or services (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 23)

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—Visual similarity between a figurative mark and a word mark (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 25, 29, 37)

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—Weak distinctive character of the dominant element (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 26, 28, 30)

6. EU trade mark—Surrender, revocation and invalidity—Relative grounds for invalidity—Existence of an identical or similar earlier mark registered for identical or similar goods or services—Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark—Figurative mark SAVORY DELICIOUS ARTISTS & EVENTS and word mark AVORY (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 8(1)(b) and 53(1)(a)) (see paras 33, 39, 40, 43, 53)

7. 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—High distinctiveness of the earlier mark—Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see para. 49)

8. 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—Refusal to register on a ground relating to refusal even limited to part of the Union (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 1(2), 7(2) and 8(1)(b)) (see para. 50)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 28 July 2017 (Case R 1758/2016-4) relating to invalidity proceedings between Ms García-Sanjuan Machado and Link Entertainment.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;