Case T-231/05: Action brought on 15 June 2005 by Corsica Ferries France against Commission of the European Communities
Date: 2005-08-20
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: European Commission, France, State aid, action for annulment (EU), aid for restructuring, company in difficulties, maritime transport

C 205/30

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.8.2005

Pleas in law and main arguments

The applicant, which is a company for the collective manage-
ment of musical intellectual-property rights in Greece, lodged a
complaint with the European Commission alleging infringe-
ment of Articles 81 and 82 EC by the companies Erato,
Apollon and Grammo, which are responsible for the manage-
ment of related rights of, respectively, singers, musicians who
play an instrument, and record companies and producers. In its
complaint,
those companies,
which hold a monopoly in Greece over related rights in the
foregoing sectors, acting in concert set very high charges in
respect of related rights, with the result that many entertain-
ment undertakings, not being able to pay them, stopped using
music in their premises and writers of music, members of the
applicant, were also deprived of
their intellectual property
rights.

the applicant maintained that

The applicant seeks the annulment of the Commission decision
which rejected its complaint. It submits that the Commission
mistakenly considered that there was no risk of misfunctioning
of the common market because all the parties involved were
established in Greece. According to the applicant, the mere fact
that an infringement of the competition rules occurs exclusively
within just one Member State is not sufficient for the infringe-
ment
further
to be considered insubstantial. The applicant
submits that the Commission failed to examine all the grounds
of the complaint lodged. Finally, the applicant pleads that the
infringement relied upon may affect inter-State trade.

Court of First Instance of the European Communities on 24
June 2005 by Golf USA Inc., established in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, USA, represented by A.H. de Bosch Kemper-de
Hilster, lawyer, with an address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicant claims that the Court should:

— annul the contested decision of the Second Board of Appeal
of the OHIM of 25 April 2005 in Case R 823/2004-2
(GOLF-USA);

— order the defendant to bear the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Community trade mark
concerned:

Word mark GOLF USA for goods
and services in classes 25 (sports,
leisure shoes, outer clothes etc.),
28 (sport articles including golf
clubs)
(commercial
35
retailing services of sport articles)

and

Decision of
iner:

Decision of
of Appeal:

Pleas in law:

the exam-

Refuses the application in total

the Board

Dismisses the appeal

Violation of Article 7(1)(b) and (c)
of Council Regulation No 40/94.

Action brought on 24 June 2005 by Golf USA Inc. against
the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs)

(Case T-230/05)

(2005/C 205/54)

(Language of the case: English)

Action brought on 15 June 2005 by Corsica Ferries France
against Commission of the European Communities

(Case T-231/05)

(2005/C 205/55)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal
(Trade Marks and Designs) was brought before the
Market

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 15 June 2005 by Corsica Ferries
France, established in Bastia (France), represented by Stéphane
Rodrigues and Alice Jaume, lawyers.

20.8.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 205/31

The applicant claims that the Court should:

Action brought on 13 June 2005 by Gerrit Bethuyne and
the European
four others against

the Commission of
Communities

1. Annul

the Commission Decision of 16 March 2005
concerning the second tranche of restructuring aid paid by
France to National Maritime Corse-Méditerranée (SNCM);

2. Order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

is

action

brought

This
against Commission Decision
C(2004)4751 final of 16 March 2005 declaring payment of the
second tranche of aid given by France to Société Nationale
Maritime Corse-Méditerranée (SNCM) for restructuring to be
compatible, with certain conditions, with the common market
(Aid No C 58/2002, ex N 118(2002)). That decision is a
follow-up to the decision of 9 July 2003, which authorised
subject to conditions the first tranche of the restructuring aid at
issue.

In support of its claims, the applicant pleads the infringement
of Article 87 of the EC Treaty and the rules adopted for its
application which are relevant in this case, namely the condi-
tions imposed by the decision of 9 July 2003 and the condi-
tions arising from the Commission's 1997 Community guide-
lines on State aid to maritime transport (1) and the Commis-
sion's 1999 Community Guidelines on State aid for rescuing
and restructuring firms in difficulty (2), as applicable at the time
when the examination procedure for the contested aid was
opened.

(Case T-234/05)

(2005/C 205/56)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Commission of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 13 June 2005 by Gerrit Bethuyne,
residing in Dentergem (Belgium), and four others, represented
by Sébastien Orlandi, Xavier Martin, Albert Coolen and Etienne
Marchal, lawyers, with an address for service in Luxembourg.

The applicants claim that the Court should:

1. annul the decisions to appoint the applicants officials of the
European Communities, insofar as those decisions determine
their grade of recruitment in accordance with Article 12 of
Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations;

2. order the Commission to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The pleas and arguments relied on by the applicants are iden-
tical to those of the applicants in Case T-130/05 (1).

(1) OJ C 132, 28.5.2005, p. 31.

The applicant states in that connection that, contrary to the
decision of 9 July 2003, SNCM's shares in the Compagnie
Corse Meditérranée were not
Furthermore, SNCM
continued to apply a pricing policy aiming to offer lower
prices than its competitors.

sold.

Action brought on 20 June 2005 by Jan Siffert against the
Court of Justice of the European Communities

regards

Furthermore, as
the abovementioned Community
the restructuring plan submitted by the French
guidelines,
Republic was not fully implemented. In addition, the amount
of aid was not limited to the strict minimum.

(1) OJ C 205 of 5.7.1997, p. 5
(2) OJ C 288 of 9.10.1999, p. 2

(Case T-235/05)

(2005/C 205/57)

(Language of the case: French)

An action against the Court of Justice of the European Commu-
nities was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 20 June 2005 by Jan Siffert,
residing in Brussels
represented by Sébastien
Orlandi, Xavier Martin, Albert Coolen and Etienne Marchal,
lawyers, with an address for service in Luxembourg.

(Belgium),