Case C-246/05: Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 14 June 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Patent- und Markensenat, Austria) — Armin Häupl v Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (Trade mark law — Article 10(1) of Directive 89/104/EEC — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — Concept of date of the completion of the registration procedure )
Date: 2007-08-04
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU trade mark, approximation of laws, brand name, intellectual property, interpretation of the law, trade-mark law

C 183/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

4.8.2007

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 21 June 2007
— Commission of the European Communities v Italian
Republic

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 14 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster
Patent- und Markensenat, Austria) — Armin Häupl v Lidl
Stiftung & Co. KG

(Case C-173/05) (1)

of a Member State

(Failure
obligations —
Articles 23 EC, 25 EC and 133 EC — EEC-Algeria Coopera-
tion Agreement — Environmental protection tax on gas pipe-
lines installed in the Sicilian Region — Charge having equiva-
lent effect to a customs duty)

fulfil

to

(2007/C 183/05)

Language of the case: Italian

(Case C-246/05) (1)

(Trade mark law — Article 10(1) of Directive 89/104/EEC —
Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — Concept of ‘date of
the completion of the registration procedure’)

(2007/C 183/06)

Language of the case: German

Parties

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: E. Traversa and J. Hottiaux, Agents)

Referring court

Defendant:
Agent, and A. Cingolo, avvocato dello Stato)

Italian Republic (represented by:

I.M. Braguglia,

Oberster Patent- und Markensenat

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Infringement
of Articles 23 EC, 25 EC, 26 EC and 133 EC and of Articles 4
and 9 of the Cooperation Agreement between the European
Economic Community and the People's Democratic Republic of
Algeria signed on 26 April 1976 and approved by Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2210/78 of 26 September 1978 (OJ 1978
L 263, p. 1) — National law imposing an environmental protec-
tion tax (‘tributo ambientale’) on gas pipelines installed in the
Sicilian Region

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Declares that, by introducing an environmental tax on methane gas
from Algeria, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
under Articles 23 EC, 25 EC and 133 EC and under Article 9 of
the Cooperation Agreement between the European Economic Com-
munity and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, signed in
Algiers on 26 April 1976, and approved on behalf of
the
Community by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2210/78 of
26 September 1978;

2. Dismisses the remainder of the action;

3. Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 155, 25.6.2005.

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Armin Häupl

Defendant: Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Oberster Patent- und
Markensenat — Interpretation of Articles 10(1) and 12(1) of
Directive 89/104/EEC: First Council Directive of 21 December
1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to
trade marks (OJ 1989 L 40, p. 1) — Absence of genuine use of
the undertaking
a mark — Reasons outside the control of
preventing it from opening supermarkets on the national terri-
tory, whereas its usual strategy is to market goods bearing that
mark only in its own supermarkets — Concept of the date on
which the registration procedure finishes

Operative part of the judgment

1) The ‘date of the completion of the registration procedure’ within the
meaning of Article 10(1) of First Council Directive 89/104/EEC
of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the Member
States relating to trade marks must be determined in each Member
State in accordance with the procedural rules on registration in
force in that State;

4.8.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 183/5

2) Article 12(1) of Directive 89/104 must be interpreted as meaning
that obstacles having a direct relationship with a trade mark which
make its use impossible or unreasonable and which are independent
of the will of the proprietor of that mark constitute ‘proper reasons
for non-use’ of the mark. It is for the national court or tribunal to
assess the facts in the main proceedings in the light of
that
guidance.

(1) OJ C 193, 16.8.2006.

Operative part of the judgment

1. Heading GC 020 of

the green list of wastes in Annex II to
Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of 1 February 1993 on the
supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out
of the European Community, as amended by Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 2557/2001 of 28 December 2001, is to be inter-
preted as covering wire cable only if such wire comes from electronic
equipment.

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 21 June 2007
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank te
Rotterdam, Netherlands) — Criminal proceedings against
Omni Metal Service

(Case C-259/05) (1)

(Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 — Waste — Cables composed
of copper and PVC — Export to China for purposes of
recovery — Heading GC 020 — Mixed waste — Combination
of two materials mentioned in the green list of wastes — Such
mixed waste not included on the green list — Consequences)

(2007/C 183/07)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Rechtbank te Rotterdam

2. Regulation No

by

amended

259/93,

Regulation
as
No 2557/2001, is to be construed in such a way that the fact
that composite waste is a combination of two materials both of
which are mentioned in the green list of wastes in Annex II to that
regulation does not have the effect of making the rules laid down
by that regulation concerning the wastes mentioned on that list
applicable to such composite waste.

(1) OJ C 243, 1.10.2005.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 14 June 2007
— Commission of the European Communities v Republic
of Finland

(Case C-342/05) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Directive
92/43/EEC — Conservation of natural habitats — Wild
fauna and flora — Wolf hunting)

(2007/C 183/08)

Language of the case: Finnish

Party in the criminal prosecution in the main proceedings

Parties

Omni Metal Service

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Rechtbank Rotterdam —
Interpretation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 of
1 February 1993 on the supervision and control of shipments
of waste within,
into and out of the European Community
(OJ 1993 L 30, p. 1) — Whether cable scrap with a diameter of
15 cm and composed of different materials may be classified as
electronic scrap within the meaning of heading GC 020 of the
green list
is
possible to transport such waste without the notification proce-
dure or without the need to transport it separately

to that regulation — Whether it

in Annex II

Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (repre-
sented by: M. van Beek and I. Koskinen, Agents)

Defendant: Republic of Finland (represented by: E. Bygglin,
Agent)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Infringe-
and 16(1) of Council Directive
ment of Articles 12(1)
92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural
habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ 1992 L 206, p. 7) —
Hunting of wolves