Case T-321/03: Action brought on 8 September 2003 by Juckem GmbH and Others against European Parliament and Council of the European Union
Date: 2003-11-15
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Parliament, action for annulment (EU), industrial secret, labelling, manufactured feedingstuffs

C 275/50

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

15.11.2003

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant claims that the Court should:

The applicant received a grant from the Commission in 1996
within the framework of a project to create a joint venture
with a Polish undertaking. The request for a grant was based
on application of a regional development plan entitled ‘Joint
Venture PHARE TACIS Program’. Following an investigation
carried out
the applicant’s premises and an
exchange of correspondence between the applicant and the
Commission, the latter, by a missive of 8 July 2003, instructed
the bank acting as financial intermediary for the development
plan to effect full recovery of the funds paid to the applicant.
It is this notification which constitutes the decision under
challenge by the applicant.

in 2002 at

In support of its action, the applicant first invokes an alleged
breach of the provisions of Regulation No 1 (1) inasmuch as
the contested decision was drafted in English and not in
French, even though it was addressed to the applicant, which
is a French company. The applicant also pleads an alleged
failure to comply with the four-year limitation period laid
down in Article 3 of Council Regulation No 2988/95 (2). The
applicant further submits that the contested decision, which
was not signed by the competent Commissioner but by a Head
infringes the principle of
of Unit and an administrator,
collegiate responsibility and originates from an authority
lacking competence.

The applicant contends further that the contested decision is
vitiated by a substantive inaccuracy as to the facts, lacks any
legal basis, fails to satisfy the obligation to state reasons, and
infringes the principles of proportionality and audi alteram
partem and the right to due process.

(1) Regulation No 1 of the Council determining the languages to be
used by the European Economic Community (OJ English Special
Edition 1952-1958, p. 59).

(2) Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of 18 December
1995 on the protection of the European Communities’ financial
interests (OJ L 312 of 23.12.1995, pp. 1 to 4).

— annul the Decision of the Third Board of Appeal of the
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade
Marks and Designs) of 25 June 2003 (Case R 85/2002-
3);

— order that the costs of the proceedings be borne by the

Office.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Trade mark concerned:

‘LIVE RICHLY’ (word) — Appli-
cation No. 2112647.

Products or services:

‘Financial and monetary services
and real estate affairs; in particu-
lar: banking; credit card; commer-
cial and consumer lending and
financing; real estate and mort-
gage brokerage; trust, estate and
fiduciary management, planning
and consulting;
investment and
investment advisory and con-
sulting; securities brokerage and
trading services facilitating secure
financial
insurance
transactions,
services; in particular, underwrit-
ing and sales of property, casualty
and life insurance policies and
annuity contracts’ (Class 36)

Challenged
before
Appeal:

Decision
the Board of

Refusal of
examiner

registration by the

Pleas in law:

Violation of Articles 7(1)(b) and
73, first and second sentences, of
Regulation (EC) No 40/94.

Action brought on 15 September 2003 by Citicorp against
the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market

Action brought on 8 September 2003 by Juckem GmbH
and Others against European Parliament and Council of
the European Union

(Case T-320/03)

(2003/C 275/84)

(Case T-321/03)

(2003/C 275/85)

(Language of the case: English)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal
Market was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 15 September 2003 by Citicorp,
New York (USA),
represented by Dr V. von Bomhard,
Dr A. Pohlmann and Dr. A. Renck, lawyers.

An action against the European Parliament and the Council of
the European Union was brought before the Court of First
Instance on 8 September 2003 by Juckem GmbH and 244
other companies, represented by D. Waalbroeck and N. Ram-
pal, avocats.

15.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 275/51

The applicants claim that the Court should:

— violates the principle of proportionality;

— declare that the Community has, through the European
Parliament and the Council,
incurred non-contractual
liability, and order the defendants to make good all loss
suffered by the applicants on account of the directive in
question;

— declare that interest at the annual rate of 8 % (or at an
appropriate rate to be fixed by the Court) is payable from
the date of the Court’s decision finding the Community
liable until the time of payment;

— order the defendants to pay the costs.

— treats the applicants unequally in comparison with traders
active in the sphere of foodstuffs for human beings;

— was adopted on the wrong legal basis. The directive at
issue ought to have been based on Article 37 of the EC
Treaty and not on Article 152(4)(b) of the EC Treaty,
since it has nothing to do with the veterinary and
phytosanitary field.

(1) OJ L 63 of 6 June 2002, p. 23.

Pleas in law and main arguments

This application claims compensation for the damage suppos-
edly caused by Directive 2002/2/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 28 January 2002 amending
Council Directive 79/373/EEC on the circulation of compound
feedingstuffs and repealing Commission Directive 91/357/
EEC (1).

The abovementioned directive introduces a requirement that
manufacturers of compound feedingstuffs should indicate on
their labels the precise quantities (in percentages) of all
feed materials included in each feedingstuff. By so doing it
establishes quite new labelling rules for compound feeding-
stuffs which, according to the applicants, will result in the
compulsory divulgence of the know-how and fundamental
commercial secrets of the compound feedingstuff manufac-
turers. The introduction of those rules will enable the com-
pound feedingstuff manufacturers’ customers to know not
only the formula but also the exact cost of the feed materials,
so that the applicants will, they argue,
lose their greatest
vehicle of competition and their very existence could be
jeopardised.

In support of their claims the applicants maintain that the
contested directive:

— infringes their know-how and commercial secrets which

are protected in the Community legal order;

— fails to have regard to protection of undistorted compe-
tition, to reinforcement of the competitiveness of the
Community industry and encouragement of technologi-
cal R. & D.;

Action brought on 12 September 2003 by La Baronia de
Turis against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal
Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM)

(Case T-323/03)

(2003/C 275/86)

(Language of the case: Spanish)

An action against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal
Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) was brought before
the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on
12 September 2003 by La Baronia de Turis, Cooperativa
Valenciana, established in Turis, Valencia (Spain), represented
by Juan José Carreño Moreno, lawyer.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the
Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade
Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of 9 July 2003 in Case R 57/
2003-2;

— order that registration be refused in respect of Community
trade mark No 2 057 487 ‘LA BARONNIE’, owned by
the undertaking Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, to
designate products within Class 33 of the Nice Classifi-
cation.

— infringes the right to property and the right to carry on

economic activity freely;

Pleas in law and main arguments

— militates against improvement of agricultural products

and protection of the environment;

Applicant
munity trade mark:

for

Com-

Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA.