Case T-325/04: Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 27 February 2008 — Citigroup v OHIM — Link Interchange Network (WORLDLINK) (Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community word mark WORLDLINK — Earlier national figurative mark LiNK — Relative ground for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Restriction of services covered in the trade mark application — Identity of services — Similarity of signs — Articles 73 and 74 of Regulation (EC) No 40/94)
Date: 2008-02-27
Institutions: Court of First Instance
Subjects: EU trade mark, European Union Intellectual Property Office, action for annulment (EU), banking, trade-mark law

C 92/26

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.4.2008

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 27 February
2008 — Citigroup v OHIM — Link Interchange Network
(WORLDLINK)

Judgment of the Court of First Instance of 28 February
2008 — American Clothing Associates v OHIM (Represen-
tation of a maple leaf)

(Case T-325/04) (1)

(Case T-215/06) (1)

(Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Appli-
cation for Community word mark WORLDLINK — Earlier
national figurative mark LiNK — Relative ground for refusal
— Likelihood of confusion — Restriction of services covered
in the trade mark application — Identity of services —
Similarity of signs — Articles 73 and 74 of Regulation (EC)
No 40/94)

(Community trade mark — Application for a figurative Com-
munity trade mark representing a maple leaf — Absolute
ground for refusal — Service mark — Article 7(1)(h) of
Regulation (EC) No 40/94 — Article 6ter of the Paris
Convention — Matters of law brought before the departments
of OHIM and before the Court)

(2008/C 92/52)

Language of the case: English

(2008/C 92/53)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Inc.

Applicant: Citigroup,
formerly Citicorp (New York, New
York, United States) (represented initially by: V. von Bomhard,
A. Renck, A. Pohlmann, lawyers and C. Schulte, Solicitor, and
subsequently by V. von Bomhard and A. Renck)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs) (represented by: P. Bullock, Agent)

Parties

Applicant: American Clothing Associates SA (Evergem, Belgium)
(represented by: P. Maeyaert and N. Clarembeaux, lawyers)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
Folliard-
(Trade Marks
Monguiral, Agent)

(represented by: A.

and Designs)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of OHIM
Instance: Link Interchange
intervening before the Court of First
(represented by: D.
Network Ltd (London, United Kingdom)
McFarland, Barrister, and R. Brown, Solicitor)

Re:

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal
of OHIM of 18 May 2004 (Case R 789/2002-1) relating to
opposition proceedings between Link Interchange Network Ltd
and Citigroup, Inc.

Action brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal
of OHIM of 4 May 2006 (Case R 1463/2005-1) concerning the
application for registration of a sign representing a maple leaf as
a Community trade mark

Operative part of the judgment

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Citigroup, Inc. to pay the costs.

(1) OJ C 273, 6.11.2004.

1. Annuls the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the Office for
Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)
(OHIM) of 4 May 2006 (Case R 1463/2005-1) in so far as it
relates to the registration of the mark applied for in respect of the
services in Class 40 of the Nice Agreement concerning the Interna-
tional Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the
Registration of Marks of 15 June 1957, as revised and amended,
and corresponding to the following description:
‘Tailoring; taxi-
dermy; bookbinding; dressing, processing and finishing of skins,
leather, furs and textiles; photographic film development and photo-
graphic printing; woodworking; fruit pressing; grain milling; proces-
sing, tempering and finishing of metal surfaces’;