Case C-832/21, Beverage City Polska: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 7 September 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf — Germany) — Beverage City & Lifestyle GmbH, MJ, Beverage City Polska Sp. z o.o., FE v Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc. (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters — Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 — Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters — Special jurisdiction — Article 8(1) — More than one defendant — Claims so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together — Anchor defendant — EU trade mark — Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 — Articles 122 and 125 — Action for infringement of an EU trade mark brought against a number of defendants domiciled in different Member States — Jurisdiction of the courts of the place where the managing director of a defendant company is domiciled — Jurisdiction of the court seised in respect of co-defendants domiciled outside the forum Member State — Concept of ‘so closely connected’ — Exclusive distribution agreement between a supplier and its customer)
Date: 2023-09-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU trade mark, customers, exclusive distribution agreement, judicial cooperation in civil matters in the EU, legal domicile, registered trade mark, residence, supplier, trade-mark law








C_202300191EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/191


23.10.2023





Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 7 September 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf — Germany) — Beverage City & Lifestyle GmbH, MJ, Beverage City Polska Sp. z o.o., FE v Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc.
(Case C-832/21, (1) Beverage City Polska)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters - Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 - Jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters - Special jurisdiction - Article 8(1) - More than one defendant - Claims so closely connected that it is expedient to hear and determine them together - Anchor defendant - EU trade mark - Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 - Articles 122 and 125 - Action for infringement of an EU trade mark brought against a number of defendants domiciled in different Member States - Jurisdiction of the courts of the place where the managing director of a defendant company is domiciled - Jurisdiction of the court seised in respect of co-defendants domiciled outside the forum Member State - Concept of ‘so closely connected’ - Exclusive distribution agreement between a supplier and its customer)
(C/2023/191)
Language of the case: German

Referring court

Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Beverage City & Lifestyle GmbH, MJ, Beverage City Polska Sp. z o.o., FE

Defendant: Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc.

Operative part of the judgment

Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters
must be interpreted as meaning that a number of defendants, domiciled in different Member States, may be sued in the courts for the place where one of them is domiciled before which, in the context of an infringement action, claims have been brought against all of those defendants by the proprietor of an EU trade mark where they are each accused of having committed a materially identical infringement of that trade mark and they are connected by an exclusive distribution agreement.


(1)  
            OJ C 119, 14.3.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/191/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)