CELEX: 62011CA0149
Language: en
Date: 2012-12-19 00:00:00
Title: Case C-149/11: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 19 December 2012 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Gerechtshof te ’s-Gravenhage — Netherlands) — Leno Merken BV v Hagelkruis Beheer BV (Community trade mark — Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Article 15(1) — ‘Genuine use of the trade mark’ — Territorial scope of use — Use of the Community trade mark in a single Member State — Whether sufficient)

16.2.2013   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 46/3
            
         Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 19 December 2012 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Gerechtshof te ’s-Gravenhage — Netherlands) — Leno Merken BV v Hagelkruis Beheer BV
   (Case C-149/11) (1)
   
   (Community trade mark - Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 - Article 15(1) - ‘Genuine use of the trade mark’ - Territorial scope of use - Use of the Community trade mark in a single Member State - Whether sufficient)
   2013/C 46/05
   Language of the case: Dutch
   
      Referring court
   
   Gerechtshof te ’s-Gravenhage
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   
      Applicant: Leno Merken BV
   
      Defendant: Hagelkruis Beheer BV
   
      Re:
   
   Request for a preliminary ruling — Gerechtshof te’s-Gravenhage — Interpretation of Article 15(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark (OJ 2009 L 78, p. 1) — Use of the mark — Genuine use — Meaning — Use of a Community trade mark on the territory of just one Member State — Use regarded as genuine by that State if it were an identical national mark.
   
      Operative part of the judgment
   
   Article 15(1) of Regulation No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the Community trade mark must be interpreted as meaning that the territorial borders of the Member States should be disregarded in the assessment of whether a trade mark has been put to ‘genuine use in the Community’ within the meaning of that provision.
   A Community trade mark is put to ‘genuine use’ within the meaning of Article 15(1) of Regulation No 207/2009 when it is used in accordance with its essential function and for the purpose of maintaining or creating market share within the European Community for the goods or services covered by it. It is for the referring court to assess whether the conditions are met in the main proceedings, taking account of all the relevant facts and circumstances, including the characteristics of the market concerned, the nature of the goods or services protected by the trade mark and the territorial extent and the scale of the use as well as its frequency and regularity.
   
      (1)  OJ C 179, 18.6.2011.