CELEX: C1998/299/16
Language: en
Date: 1998-09-26 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT of 16 July 1998 in Case C-355/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof): Silhouette International Schmied GmbH & Co. KG v. Hartlauer Handelsgesellschaft mbH (Directive 89/104/EEC - Exhaustion of trade mark - Goods put on the market in the Community or in a non-member country)

26.9.98               EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                      C 299/9
Ð compliance with that requirement must be proved                    That presupposes, however:
     within the time limits laid down in Article 28 of that
     Regulation, failing which the whole of the security
     becomes forfeit pursuant to Article 22(1) and (2) of            Ð that the good faith of the recipient has first been
     that Regulation.                                                     established, and
(1) OJ C 318, 26.10.1996.
(2) OJ L 205, 3.8.1985, p. 5.                                        Ð that the conditions prescribed are the same as those
(3) OJ L 159, 1.7.1993, p. 112.                                           which apply with respect to the recovery of purely
                                                                          national financial benefits.
                                                                     (1) OJ C 318, 26.10.1996.
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                        (Fifth Chamber)
                        of 16 July 1998
                                                                                    JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
in Case C-298/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from                                    of 16 July 1998
the Verwaltungsgericht Frankfurt am Main): Oelmühle
Hamburg AG, Jb. Schmidt Söhne GmbH & Co. KG v.                       in Case C-355/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
     Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (1)              the Oberster Gerichtshof): Silhouette International
                                                                                Schmied GmbH & Co. KG v. Hartlauer
(Unduly paid Community subsidy Ð Recovery Ð                                            Handelsgesellschaft mbH (1)
    Application of national law Ð Conditions and limits)
                                                                     (Directive 89/104/EEC Ð Exhaustion of trade mark Ð
                         (98/C 299/15)
                                                                     Goods put on the market in the Community or in a non-
                                                                                            member country)
               (Language of the case: German)                                                 (98/C 299/16)
  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be                       (Language of the case: German)
          published in the European Court Reports)
                                                                       (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
In Case C-198/96: reference to the Court under Article 177
of the EC Treaty from the Verwaltungsgericht Frankfurt                         published in the European Court Reports)
am Main for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings
pending before that court between Oelmühle Hamburg
AG, Jb. Schmidt Söhne GmbH & Co. KG and                              In Case 355/96: reference to the Court under Article 177
Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung, on the               of the EC Treaty from the Oberster Gerichtshof for a
principles of Community law applicable to measures taken             preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that
by national authorities for the recovery of an unduly paid           court between Silhouette International Schmied GmbH &
Community subsidy Ð the Court (Fifth Chamber),                       Co. KG and Hartlauer Handelsgesellschaft mbH, on the
composed of: C. Gulmann, President of Chamber, M.                    interpretation of first Council Directive 89/104/EEC of
Wathelet, D. A. O. Edward, P. Jann (Rapporteur) and L.               21 December 1988 to approximate the laws of the
Sevón, Judges; P. LeÂger, Advocate General; H. von                   Member States relating to trade marks (2) as amended by
Holstein, Deputy Registrar, has given a judgment on                  the Agreement on the European Economic Area of 2 May
16 July 1998, in which it has ruled:                                 1992 (3) Ð the Court, composed of: G. C. Rodríguez
                                                                     Iglesias, President, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), M. Wathelet
                                                                     and R. Schintgen, Presidents of Chambers, G. F. Mancini,
Community law does not in principle preclude national                L. Sevón and K. M. Ioannou, Judges; F. G. Jacobs,
legislation from allowing recovery of unduly paid                    Advocate General; H. von Holstein, Deputy Registrar, has
Community subsidies to be barred, on the basis of criteria           given a judgment on 16 July 1998, in which it has ruled:
such as loss of the enrichment, where:
                                                                     1. national rules providing for exhaustion of trade-mark
Ð the recipient of the subsidy had already, at the time                   rights in respect of products put on the market outside
     when it was granted, passed on the pecuniary                         the EEA under that mark by the proprietor or with its
     advantage resulting from it by paying the producer the               consent are contrary to Article 7(1) of first Council
     target price prescribed by Community law, and                        Directive 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to
                                                                          approximate the laws of the Member States relating to
                                                                          trade marks, as amended by the Agreement on the
Ð any right or recourse against his suppliers is worthless.               European Economic Area of 2 May 1992;
 ---pagebreak--- C 299/10              EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                       26.9.98
2. Article 7(1) of Directive 89/104/EEC cannot be                        organisms, the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil
     interpreted as meaning that the proprietor of a trade               its obligations under Article 2 of that Directive;
     mark is entitled, on the basis of that provision alone,
     to obtain an order restraining a third party from using
     his trade mark for products which have been put on              2. orders the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs.
     the market outside the European Economic Area
     under that mark by the proprietor or with his consent.          (1) OJ C 295, 27.9.1997.
                                                                     (2) OJ L 297, 18.11.1994, p. 29.
(1) OJ C 388, 21.12.1996.
(2) OJ L 40, 11.12.1989, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 1, 3.1.1994, p. 3.
                                                                     Action brought on 9 July 1998 by the Hellenic Republic
                                                                        against the Commission of the European Communities
                                                                                              (Case C-247/98)
                                                                                               (98/C 299/18)
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                        (Sixth Chamber)
                                                                     An action against the Commission of the European
                         of 16 July 1998                             Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of
in    Case   C-285/97: Commission of the European                    the European Communities on 9 July 1998 by the Hellenic
           Communities v. Portuguese Republic (1)                    Republic, represented by Dimitrios Papageorgopoulos,
                                                                     State Legal Adviser, and Ioannis-Konstantinos Khalkias,
(Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations Ð               Member of the State Legal Service, with an address for
Failure to transpose Directive 94/51/EC within the                   service in Luxembourg at the Greek Embassy, 117 Val
                       prescribed period)                            Sainte-Croix.
                          (98/C 299/17)
                                                                     The applicant claims that the Court should:
              (Language of the case: Portuguese)                     Ð hold the application admissible,
                                                                     Ð annul, or otherwise modify, Commission Decision 98/
  (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be           358/EC of 6 May 1998 on the clearance of the
          published in the European Court Reports)                       accounts presented by the Member States in respect of
                                                                         the expenditure for 1994 of the Guarantee Section of
                                                                         the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
In Case C-285/97: Commission of the European                             Fund (notified under document number C(1998)
Communities (Agent: Francisco de Sousa Fialho) v.                        1124) (1).
Portuguese Republic (Agents: Luís Fernandes and Pedro
Portugal) Ð application for a declaration that, by failing
                                                                     Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
to adopt within the prescribed period the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
Commission Directive 94/51/EC of 7 November 1994                     By its contested decision, the Commission, in clearing
adapting to technical progress Council Directive 90/219/             accounts for the 1994 financial year, did not recognise
EEC on the contained use of genetically modified micro-              various items of expenditure amounting to GRD
organisms (2) the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil           8 093 595 532 which relate to the beef and veal, fruit and
its obligations under the third paragraph of Article 189 of          vegetable, and wine sectors.
the EC Treaty and Article 2 of Directive 94/51/EC Ð the
Court (Sixth Chamber), composed of: H. Ragnemalm
(Rapporteur), Presidents of Chambers, G. F. Mancini, J. L.           The Hellenic Republic maintains that that decision of the
Murray, G. Hirsch and K. M. Ioannou, Judges; A. La                   Commission should be annulled because it is based on a
Pergola, Advocate General; R. Grass, Registrar, has given            misapprehension of the facts and on an incorrect, or
a judgment on 16 July 1998, in which it:                             otherwise insufficient, statement of reasons. In adopting
                                                                     that decision, the Commission exceeded the limits of its
                                                                     discretion, while, in particular in the compulsory
                                                                     distillation sector, it relied on a non-existent legal basis for
1. declares that, by failing to adopt within the prescribed          imposing the correction.
     period the laws, regulations and administrative
     provisions necessary to comply with Commission
     Directive 94/51/EC of 7 November 1994 adapting to               (1) OJ L 163, 6.6.1998, p. 28.
     technical progress Council Directive 90/219/EEC on
     the contained use of genetically modified micro-