CELEX: C2001/079/43
Language: en
Date: 2001-03-10 00:00:00
Title: Case T-380/00: Action brought on 20 December 2000 by Japan Tobacco Inc. against the Council of the European Union and the Commission of the European Communities

C 79/24                 EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                     10.3.2001
Action brought on 20 December 2000 by R.J. Reynolds                      Furthermore, the applicant submits that the Community’s
Tobacco Holdings Inc. against the Council of the European                competence to act in Member States to counter fraud in
Union and the Commission of the European Communities                     cooperation with the Member States does not permit it to
                                                                         launch civil proceedings in the United States; measures to
                                                                         counter fraud must be adopted according to the procedures
                          (Case T-379/00)                                laid down in Article 280(4) EC, a procedure which was not
                                                                         followed in respect of the contested decisions.
                           (2001/C 79/42)
                                                                         The applicant contends that, in launching the proceedings in
                                                                         the United States, the Community is circumventing the
                                                                         applicable procedures for the levying and recoverability of
                   (Language of the case: English)                       unpaid customs duties and the penalties which could be
                                                                         imposed for avoidance, that the applicant’s right to be heard
                                                                         has been infringed, and that the general principles of legal
An action against the Council of the European Union and the              certainty, the rights of defence, due process and proportionality
Commission of the European Communities was brought                       have been breached. Finally, the applicant maintains that
before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities           the defendants have misused their powers by adopting the
on 20 December 2000 by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings                    contested decisions.
Inc., a company incorporated in the state of Delaware (USA),
represented by Onno W. Brouwer and Paul Lomas of Fresh-
fields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                         Action brought on 20 December 2000 by Japan Tobacco
—     annul the Commission’s decision, which became known
                                                                         Inc. against the Council of the European Union and the
      to the applicant on 6 November 2000, to commence the
                                                                                 Commission of the European Communities
      New York RICO Proceedings in the name of the European
      Community against the applicant and/or to instruct
      others to do so; and, if it exists,                                                         (Case T-380/00)
—     annul the Council’s decision, which never became known                                       (2001/C 79/43)
      to the applicant, to commence the New York RICO
      Proceedings in the name of the European Community
      against the applicant and/or to mandate or instruct others                            (Language of the case: English)
      to do so;
                                                                         An action against the Council of the European Union and the
—     order the Commission and/or the Council to pay the cost            Commission of the European Communities was brought
      of these proceedings, including those of the applicant and         before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities
      any third parties.                                                 on 20 December 2000 by Japan Tobacco Inc., a company
                                                                         incorporated in Japan, represented by Onno W. Brouwer
                                                                         and Paul Lomas of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Brussels
                                                                         (Belgium).
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                         The applicant claims that the Court should:
The applicant is a defendant in legal proceedings brought by             —    annul the Commission’s decision, which became known
the European Community before a United States court, in                       to the applicant on 6 November 2000, to commence the
which the Community seeks compensatory, treble and punitive                   New York RICO Proceedings in the name of the European
damages for losses allegedly suffered for unpaid VAT, customs                 Community against the applicant and/or to instruct
duties etc. which, it is alleged, the Community has not received              others to do so; and, if it exists,
as a result of smuggling of cigarettes into the European Union.
                                                                         —    annul the Council’s decision, which never became known
                                                                              to the applicant, to commence the New York RICO
The applicant submits that the Community has no competence                    Proceedings in the name of the European Community
to levy or collect customs duties or VAT directly or indirectly               against the applicant and/or to mandate or instruct others
in civil damages proceedings. All competence to levy or collect               to do so;
such taxes resides exclusively in the Member States and is
enforceable under procedures established in each of them                 —    order the Commission and/or the Council to pay the cost
which do not include the use of civil damages claims in lieu of               of these proceedings, including those of the applicant and
tax collection.                                                               any third parties.
 ---pagebreak--- 10.3.2001             EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                         C 79/25
Pleas in law and main arguments                                         Proprietor of the right to    The applicant
                                                                        the trade mark or sign
The pleas in law and main arguments are analogous to those              asserted by way of oppo-
relied upon in Case T-379/00.                                           sition in the opposition
                                                                        proceedings:
                                                                        Trade mark or sign            Registered German figurative
                                                                        asserted by way of oppo-      mark ‘ILS’ for ‘educational and
                                                                        sition in the opposition      teaching material (except for
                                                                        proceedings:                  apparatus) in the form of printed
                                                                                                      materials; data carriers of all kind
Action brought on 30 December 2000 by the Institut für                                                with programmes for educational
Lernsysteme against the Office for Harmonisation in the                                               purposes; development and run-
                        Internal Market                                                               ning of correspondence courses’
                                                                                                      in Classes 9, 16 and 41
                        (Case T-388/00)
                                                                        Decision of the Oppo-         Rejection of the opposition
                                                                        sition Division:
                         (2001/C 79/44)
                                                                        Decision of the Board of      Rejection of the opposition
                                                                        Appeal:
                  (Language of the case: English)
                                                                        Grounds of claim:             — infringement of essential for-
An action against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal                                            mal provisions, e.g. Article 43
Market was brought before the Court of First Instance of the                                              (1) of Council Regulation on
European Communities on 30 December 2000 by the Institut                                                  the Community Trade Mark
für Lernsysteme, Hamburg, represented by Jörg Schneider                                               — misapplication of the prin-
of CMS Hasche Sigle Eschenlohr Peltzer Schäfer, Stuttgart                                                 ciple that the closer the goods
(Germany).                                                                                                and services are to one anoth-
                                                                                                          er, the greater the distance the
A further party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal                                             marks must observe from one
was ELS Educational Services, Inc., Culver City, California,                                              another
United States.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     annul the decision of the Office dated 18.10.2000
      — R 074/2000-3 and reject the registration of the
      Community trade mark 000131276 ‘ELS’;
                                                                        Action brought on 5 January 2001 by Renco S.A. against
—     order the Office to bear the costs.                                             the Council of the European Union
                                                                                                  (Case T-4/01)
Pleas in law and main arguments
                                                                                                 (2001/C 79/45)
Applicant for the Com-        ELS Educational Services, Inc.
munity trade mark:
                                                                                           (Language of the case: French)
The trade mark con-           The verbal mark ‘ELS’ — appli-
cerned:                       cation 131276, relating to ‘edu-
                              cational textbooks and printed            An action against the Council of the European Union was
                              materials, namely student work-           brought before the Court of First Instance of the European
                              books, catalogs, teaching man-            Communities on 5 January 2001 by Renco S.A., established in
                              uals, printed instruction materials       Milan (Italy), represented by Denis Philippe, of the Luxembourg
                              and charts and booklets designed          Bar, and Francesco Apruzzi, of the Brussels Bar.
                              for students seeking to learn
                              English as a second language’ in          The applicant claims that the Court should:
                              Class 16; ‘rendering technical
                              assistance in connection with the         —     order the defendant to pay to the applicant compensation
                              establishment and/or operation of               totalling 6 863 000 euro, together with compensatory
                              language schools’ in Class 35 and               interest with effect from the date of the event giving rise
                              ‘educational services, namely pro-              to the damage — namely, 14 April 2000 — and legal
                              viding English language instruc-                interest from the date of delivery of the judgment,
                              tion’ in Class 41                               composed of: