Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 13 July 2022 –  
CCTY Bearing Company v EUIPO – CCVI International (CCTY)

(Case T‑176/21) (
[1](#t-ECR_62021TJ0176_INF_EN_01-E0001)
)

(EU trade mark – Invalidity proceedings – EU word mark CCTY – Earlier EU figurative mark CCVI – Relative ground for refusal – Likelihood of confusion – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001) – Misuse of rights – Article 71 of Regulation 2017/1001)

| 1. | EU law – Principles – Prohibition of abuse of rights  (see para. 17) |

| 2. | EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Appeal brought against a decision of a unit of the Office ruling at first instance and referred to the Board of Appeal – Functional continuity between those two bodies – Examination of the appeal by the Board of Appeal – Scope  (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 71(1))  (see para. 18) |

| 3. | EU trade mark – Appeals procedure – Persons entitled to appeal and to be parties to the proceedings – Persons whose claims are not upheld by a decision – Invalidity proceedings based on an EU trade mark and an earlier EU trade mark – Decision granting the application for a declaration of invalidity without taking into account all the grounds for invalidity relied on – Decision upholding the claims of the applicant for a declaration of invalidity  (European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 67, 71(1) and 95; Commission Regulation 2018/625, Art. 27)  (see para. 19) |

| 4. | Appeal – Pleas in law – Plea against a ground of the judgment not necessary to support the operative part – Ineffective plea  (Art. 256 TFEU; Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 58, first para.)  (see para. 20) |

| 5. | EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Relative grounds for invalidity – Existence of an identical or similar earlier mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Criteria for assessment  (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 8(1)(b) and 53(1)(a))  (see paras 32, 33, 61, 62) |

| 6. | EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Relative grounds for invalidity – Existence of an identical or similar earlier mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Similarity of the marks concerned – Criteria for assessment – Composite mark  (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 8(1)(b) and 53(1)(a))  (see paras 39-42, 46, 47) |

| 7. | EU trade mark – Surrender, revocation and invalidity – Relative grounds for invalidity – Existence of an identical or similar earlier mark registered for identical or similar goods or services – Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark – Word mark CCTY and figurative mark CCVI  (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 8(1)(b) and 53(1)(a))  (see paras 49, 53, 58, 66-68) |

Operative part

The Court:

| 1. | Dismisses the action; |

| 2. | Orders CCTY Bearing Company to pay the costs. |

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(
[1](#c-ECR_62021TJ0176_INF_EN_01-E0001)
) [OJ C 206, 31.5.2021.](./../../../legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=OJ:C:2021:206:TOC)

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