Case T-317/01: Action brought on 17 December 2001 by M+M Gesellschaft für Unternehmensberatung und Informationssyteme mbH against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)
Date: 2002-03-02
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Union Intellectual Property Office, action for annulment (EU), provision of services, software

2.3.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 56/17

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— grant him a Declaration that Commission Regulation
(EC) No. 2062/2001 of 19 October 2001 and Council
Regulation (EC) No. 467/2001 of 6 March 2001 are,
insofar as they relate to the applicant, void, and an Order
for annulment in this regard;

— order that the Council and/or the Commission pay the

applicant’s costs of this action.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant in the present case, a citizen of Saudi Arabia
with substantial financial interests within the European Union,
challenges Regulation (EC) No 2062/2001 of 19 October
2001, amending, for the third time, Council Regulation (EC)
No 467/2001 prohibiting the export of certain goods and
services to Afghanistan, strengthening the flight ban and
extending the freezing of funds and other financial resources
in respect of the Taliban of Afghanistan and repealing Regu-
lation (EC) No 337/2000 (1), in as much as it inserted the
applicant’s name into Annex I to Council Regulation (EC)
No 467/2001. By Article 2/1 of the latter, all funds belonging
to persons designated by the Taliban Sanctions Committee of
the United Nations are to be frozen.

In support of its conclusions, the applicant submits that the
measures in question:

— Amount to an interference with property rights, protected
as a fundamental right within the Community legal order.

Action brought on 17 December 2001 by M+M Gesell-
schaft für Unternehmensberatung und Informationssyte-
me mbH against the Office for Harmonisation in the
Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)

(Case T-317/01)

(2002/C 56/31)

(Language of the case: to be determined pursuant to Article 131(2)
of the Rules of Procedure — Language in which the application has
been drafted: German)

An action against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal
Market (Trade Marks and Designs) was brought before the
Court of First Instance of the European Communities on
17 December 2001 by M+M Gesellschaft
für Unter-
nehmensberatung und Informationssyteme mbH, of Frankfurt
am Main (Germany), represented by M. Treis, lawyer. A further
party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal was
Mediametrie S.A., of Levallois Perret (France).

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the decision adopted on 2 October 2001 by the
First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in
the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) in Case
No R 698/2000-1;

— order the Office to pay the applicant’s costs.

— Entitle the Council and the Commission, in violation of
the right to a fair hearing, to freeze his assets and to
maintain his freeze without granting him any opportunity
to make submissions to these authorities seeking to
persuade them to release his assets.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Applicant for the Com-
munity trade mark:

the applicant

— Provide, in violation of the Community Law principle of
effective judicial control, no remedy to the Applicant by
which he may seek to challenge his inclusion in the list
by obtaining an independent judicial assessment of the
evidential basis for the interference with his rights.

The Community trade
mark applied for:

the verbal mark ‘M+M EURODA-
TA’
for goods and services in
Classes 9, 16, 35, 41 and 42 (inter
alia software, market research and
seminars)

According to the Applicant, an independent assessment by the
Communty institutions or by any judicial body of the evidential
basis for the freezing of its assets would show there is no basis
for the allegations against it.

(1) OJ L 277, of 20.10.2001, p. 25.

Proprietor of the trade- Mediametrie S.A.
mark right opposed in
the opposition proceed-
ings:

Trade-mark
opposed:

right

the Irish, French and international
(effective in respect of Benelux,
Spain, Italy and Portugal) verbal
mark ‘EURODATA TV’

Decision of the Oppo-
sition Division:

rejection of the opposition

C 56/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

2.3.2002

Decision of the Board of
Appeal:

Grounds of claim:

rescission of the decision of the
Opposition Division and referral
of the case back to the Opposition
Division as regards the goods and
services not
covered by the
decision of the Board of Appeal.

— order the defendant to pay damages provisionally asses-
sed, on a fair and equitable basis,
in the sum of
10 000 euros and to pay interest at 7 % per annum on
the balance of the pension due from 24 September 2000
to 1 April 2001;

— order the defendant to pay all the costs.

— infringement

Ar-
ticle 8(1)(b) of Regulation
(EC) No 40/94 (1);

of

Pleas in law and main arguments

— no risk of confusion;

— no similarity between the
allegedly conflicting services.

The pleas in law and arguments advanced are broadly similar
to those put forward in Case T-124/01 Del Vaglio v Com-
mission (OJ 2001 C 227, p. 31).

(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the

Community trade mark (OJ 1994 L 11, p. 1).

Action brought on 17 December 2001 by Pietro del Vaglio
against the Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-320/01)

(2002/C 56/32)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 17 December 2001 by Pietro del
Vaglio, residing in London, represented by Georges Vander-
sanden and Laure Levi, lawyers.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the defendant’s decision of 6 September 2001
rejecting the applicant’s complaint concerning the appli-
cation to his pension of the weighting for the United
Kingdom;

— order the defendant to apply the weighting for the United
from 24 September

Kingdom with retroactive effect
2000;

Action brought on 15 December 2001 by Internationaler
Hilfsfonds e.V. against the Commission of the European
Communities

(Case T-321/01)

(2002/C 56/33)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 15 December 2001 by Interna-
tionaler Hilfsfonds e.V., established at Rosbach (Federal Repub-
lic of Germany), represented by Hans Kaltenecker, lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul

the decision of

the European Commission of
16 October 2001 by which it refused the applicant’s
1996 and 1997 requests for co-financing;

— order the Commission, pursuant to the principle of
reimbursement, to pay the costs, including those resulting
from the procedures before the Ombudsman which the
applicant was constrained to incur in order to obtain its
entitlement.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant is challenging the Commission’s decision of
16 October 2001 rejecting three requests for co-financing
which it had made under budget heading B7-6000, concerning
the co-financing of actions with European non-governmental
development organisations (NGDOs)
in fields relating to
developing countries.