CELEX: C2000/302/66
Language: en
Date: 2000-10-21 00:00:00
Title: Case T-198/00: Action brought on 28 July 2000 by Hershey Foods Corporation against the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, Trade Marks and Designs

21.10.2000             EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 302/27
Action brought on 28 July 2000 by Hershey Foods                          European Communities on 31 July 2000 by Gerber Foods
Corporation against the Office for Harmonization in the                  International Limited, London, represented by Neil Warriner
          Internal Market, Trade Marks and Designs                       and Craig Pouncey of Herbert Smith, Brussels.
                        (Case T-198/00)
                                                                         The applicant claims that the Court should:
                        (2000/C 302/66)
                                                                         —     annul the Commission Decision dated 2 May 2000
                   (Language of the case: English)                             finding that the remission of import duties in a particular
                                                                               case is not justified (request submitted by the United
An action against the Office for Harmonization in the Internal                 Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) (REM
Market, Trade Marks and Designs, was brought before the                        13/99); and
Court of First Instance of the European Communities on
28 July 2000 by Hershey Foods Corporation, a company
incorporated in Delaware, United States of America, represent-           —     order the Commission of the European Communities to
ed by Roger Wyand QC.                                                          pay the costs of the applicant in the present proceedings.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     alter the decision R 391/1999-3 of the Third Board of
      Appeal dated 29 May 2000 so that it annuls the decision            Pleas in law and main arguments
      of the Examiner in refusing the claimed mark and directs
      that the claimed mark be accepted for all goods applied
      for.
                                                                         The applicant imported processed tuna from Turkey, whose
                                                                         Turkish origin was certified by ATR.1 certificates issued by the
                                                                         Turkish customs authorities. Subsequent to an investigation in
Pleas in law and main arguments                                          Turkey, a mission report concluded that most of the raw
                                                                         materials used to produce the imported goods originated in
Trade Mark concerned:         Figurative mark in form of a ‘Kiss         third countries. Thus the tuna exported duty free to the
                              device with plume’ — Application           Community could not be considered to originate in Turkey.
                              No 712 828                                 HM Customs & Excise therefore issued to the applicant post-
                                                                         clearance demands in the amount of duty unpaid.
Product or Service:           certain goods in class 30
Contested        Decision     Refusal of Registration by the
before the Board of           Examiner                                   Subsequently, HM Customs & Excise submitted an application
Appeal:                                                                  to the Commission for a decision as to whether the remission
                                                                         of import duties was justified on the basis that a ‘special
Pleas in law:                 Infringement of Article 73 of              situation’ within the terms of Article 239 of Council Regulation
                              Regulation 40/94                           (EEC) No 2913/92 (1) and Article 905 of Commission Regu-
                                                                         lation (EEC) No 2454/93 (2) existed on the facts of the case.
                                                                         That application was rejected by the contested decision.
                                                                         The applicant argues that the contested decision is affected by
                                                                         several procedural and substantive defects and infringes in
Action brought on 31 July 2000 by Gerber Foods Inter-                    particular:
national Limited against the Commission of the European
                          Communities
                                                                         —     Article 239 of Regulation 2913/92;
                        (Case T-199/00)
                                                                         —     Decisions 4/72, 5/72, 1/75 and 1/80 of the EEC —
                        (2000/C 302/67)                                        Turkey Association Council;
                   (Language of the case: English)                       —     the principle of protection of legitimate expectations;
An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the               —     the principles of legality and proper administration;