Case T-486/07: Action brought on 21 December 2007 — Ford Motor v OHIM — Alkar Automotive (CA)
Date: 2007-12-21
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: EU trade mark, European Union Intellectual Property Office, action for annulment (EU), safety device, signalling device, trade-mark law, vehicle parts

C 51/58

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.2.2008

Mark or sign cited: The national trade name ‘Olive lines’ for the
activities of a business dedicated to being a trade intermediary

Decision of the Opposition Division: Rejection of the opposition in
its entirety

Decision of the Board of Appeal: Dismissal of the appeal

Pleas in law: Violation of Article 8(1)(b) and (4) of Council Regu-
lation No 40/94, as there is a risk of confusion between the
earlier non-registered trade mark, which has more than just a
local significance, and the trade mark applied for.

Mark or sign cited: The Community word and figurative marks
‘KA’ for goods and services in classes 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21,
27, 32 and 37

Decision of the Opposition Division: Rejection of the opposition in
its entirety

Decision of the Board of Appeal: Dismissal of the appeal

Pleas in law: Infringement of Article 8(1)(b) of Council Regu-
lation No 40/94, as there is a likelihood of confusion between
the conflicting trade marks due to the phonetic and visual simi-
larity between ‘KA’ and ‘CA’, the identity of the goods and the
enhanced distinctiveness of the earlier marks.

Action brought on 21 December 2007 — Ford Motor v
OHIM — Alkar Automotive (CA)

(Case T-486/07)

(2008/C 51/105)

Language in which the application was lodged: English

Parties

Applicant: Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, United States) (represented
by: R. Ingerl, lawyer)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal: Alkar
Automotive SA (Derio, Spain)

Form of order sought

— Annul

the decision of

the Fourth Board of Appeal of
the Office
Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs) of 25 October 2007 (Case
R 85/2006-4);

for Harmonisation in the

— annul the decision of the Opposition Division of the Office
for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and
Designs) of 22 November 2005 (Opposition No B 684052);

— order OHIM to pay the costs incurred by the applicant.

Action brought on 21 December 2007 — Imperial
Chemical Industries v OHIM (FACTORY FINISH)

(Case T-487/07)

(2008/C 51/106)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Applicant: Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) plc (London, United
Kingdom) (represented by: S. Malynicz, Barrister)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs)

Form of order sought

— The decision of

the Fourth Board of Appeal dated

24 October 2007 in Case R 668/2007-4 shall be annulled.

— The Office shall bear its own costs and pay those of the

applicant.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Community trade mark concerned: The word mark ‘FACTORY
FINISH’ for goods in class 2 — application No 4 538 518

Decision of the examiner: Refusal of the application

Pleas in law and main arguments

Decision of the Board of Appeal: Dismissal of the appeal

Applicant for the Community trade mark: Alkar Automotive SA

Community trade mark concerned: The figurative mark ‘CA’ for,
inter alia, goods
in classes 9, 11 and 12 — application
No 3 186 764

Proprietor of the mark or sign cited in the opposition proceedings: The
applicant

Pleas in law: Violation of Article 7(1)(c) of Council Regulation
No 40/94, as ‘FACTORY FINISH’
is not descriptive, but an
unusual juxtaposition of words resulting in a lexical invention,
and violation of Article 7(1)(b) of Council Regulation No 40/94,
as the mark applied for is not devoid of distinctive character.