Case T-239/23: Judgment of the General Court of 25 June 2025 – Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne and INAO v EUIPO – Nero Lifestyle (NERO CHAMPAGNE) (EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for the EU word mark NERO CHAMPAGNE – Earlier PDO Champagne – Relative ground for refusal – Article 8(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 – Article 103(2)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 – Trade mark that contains a PDO – Products complying with the product specification of the PDO – Obligation to state reasons – Article 94 of Regulation 2017/1001)
Date: 2025-06-25
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: EU trade mark, champagne, education, electronic commerce, publishing, registered trade mark, retail trade, trade-mark law, wholesale trade








C_202504287EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/4287


11.8.2025






Judgment of the General Court of 25 June 2025 – Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne and INAO v EUIPO – Nero Lifestyle (NERO CHAMPAGNE)


(Case T-239/23)
                (1)

(EU trade mark - Opposition proceedings - Application for the EU word mark NERO CHAMPAGNE - Earlier PDO ‘Champagne’ - Relative ground for refusal - Article 8(6) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 - Article 103(2)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 - Trade mark that contains a PDO - Products complying with the product specification of the PDO - Obligation to state reasons - Article 94 of Regulation 2017/1001)
(C/2025/4287)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicants: Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (Épernay, France), Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO) (Montreuil, France) (represented by: E. Varese, G. Righini and V. Mazza, lawyers)

Defendant: European Union Intellectual Property Office (represented by: D. Gája, acting as Agent)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, intervener before the General Court: Nero Lifestyle Srl (Milan, Italy) (represented by: E. Cammareri and B. Marone, lawyers)

Interveners in support of the applicants: French Republic (represented by: E. Timmermans and B. Travard, acting as Agents), Italian Republic (represented by: S. Fiorentino, acting as Agent, and by G. Caselli, avvocato dello Stato), oriGIn, organization for an International Geographical Indication network (Geneva, Switzerland) (represented by: O. Vrins and N. Clarembeaux, lawyers)

Re:

By their action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicants seek the partial annulment of the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 17 February 2023 (Case R 531/2022-2).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Annuls the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 17 February 2023 (Case R 531/2022-2) in so far as it dismissed the appeal against the Opposition Division’s decision of 1 February 2022 relating to the EU word mark NERO CHAMPAGNE;










2.


Upholds the opposition in respect of the goods and services in Classes 33, 35 and 41 and corresponding, for each of those classes, to the following description:






—


Class 33: ‘Wine complying with the specifications of the protected designation of origin “Champagne”
                              ’;










—


Class 35: ‘Sale, retailing and wholesaling, online sale and sale in shops of wine bearing the protected designation of origin “Champagne”
                              ’;










—


Class 41: ‘Education, providing of training, entertainment, cultural activities; publication of texts (other than publicity texts), illustrations and periodicals, including electronic and digital publications, publication of CD-ROMs, books, journals, trade journals, newspapers, magazines and publications of all kinds (other than for publicity purposes) and in all forms, including electronic and digital publications; providing electronic publications online (not downloadable); videotape production; arranging of colloquiums, seminars, workshops, conferences, congresses and training courses for cultural or educational purposes, organisation of professional or public exhibitions and shows for cultural or educational purposes; publication of books; electronic desktop publishing; party planning; organising of training programmes; arranging of competitions and games (education or entertainment); public presentation of visual and literary works of art for cultural or educational purposes; wine-tasting events for educational purposes; teaching and providing of training relating to commerce, industry and information technology; arranging and conducting of colloquiums, congresses, conferences, seminars and training workshops for commercial and/or advertising purposes; all the aforesaid services being intended to present and promote wine bearing the protected designation of origin “Champagne”
                              ’;














3.


Orders EUIPO and Nero Lifestyle Srl to pay the costs, including those incurred before the Board of Appeal by the Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne and the Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO), and those incurred by oriGIn, organization for an International Geographical Indication network;










4.


Orders the French Republic and the Italian Republic to bear their own costs.






(1)  
            OJ C 223, 26.6.2023



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/4287/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)