CELEX: C1997/387/06
Language: en
Date: 1997-12-20 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT of 4 November 1997 in Case C-337/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden): Parfums Christian Dior SA and Parfums Christian Dior BV v. Evora BV (Trade mark rights and copyright - Action brought by the owner of those rights to stop a reseller advertising the further commercialization of goods - Perfume)

20 . 12 . 97             EN                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                       C 387/3
final regional reference amounts for sunflower seeds                     ( Rapporteur ), Judges, A. La Pergola, Advocate General; L.
produced in Portugal — the Court ( Sixth Chamber ),                     Hewlett, Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a
composed of: H. Ragnemalm, President of the Chamber,                    judgment on 23 October 1997 in which it:
R. Schintgen, G. F. Mancini, P. J. G. Kapteyn ( Rapporteur)
and G. Hirsch, Judges, C. O. Lenz, Advocate General;
H. A. Riihl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has             1 . declares that, by determining, for the application of
given a judgment on 23 October 1997, in which it:                             the special consumer tax and the flat-rate added
                                                                              special duty, the taxable value of imported used cars
                                                                              by reducing the price of equivalent new cars by 5 %
 I . dismisses the application;                                               for each year of age of the vehicles concerned, with, as
                                                                              a rule, a maximum reduction of 20% , and by
                                                                              excluding anti-pollution technology imported used cars
2 . orders the Portuguese Republic to pay the costs;                          from the benefit of the reduced rates of the special
                                                                              consumer tax applicable to that type of vehicle, the
3 . orders the Council of the European Union to bear its                      Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations
      own costs .
                                                                              under Article 95 of the Treaty;
(') OJ C 208 , 12 . 8 . 1995 .                                          2 . for the rest, dismisses the application;
                                                                        3 . orders the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.
                                                                        (') OJ C 31 , 3 . 2 . 1996 .
                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                           ( Fifth Chamber)
                         of 23 October 1997
in    Case    C-375/95 : Commission of the European
             Communities v. Hellenic Republic ( 1 )
                                                                                         JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
(Failure to fulfil obligations — Taxation of motor vehicles
                                                                                                of 4 November 1997
                          — Discrimination)
                             ( 97/C 387/05 )                            in Case C-337/95 ( reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                        the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden ): Parfums Christian Dior
                                                                              SA and Parfums Christian Dior BV v. Evora BV (')
                  (Language of the case: Greek)
                                                                        (Trade mark rights and copyright — Action brought by
                                                                        the owner of those rights to stop a reseller advertising the
                                                                                further commercialization of goods — Perfume)
   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
           published in the European Court Reports)                                                  ( 97/C 387/06 )
In Case C-375/95 : Commission of the European                                             (Language of the case: Dutch)
Communities (Agent: Dimitrios Gouloussis ) v. Hellenic
Republic ( Agents : Panagiotis Mylonopoulos and Anna
Rokofyllou ) application for a declaration under Article 169
of the EC Treaty that, by introducing and maintaining in                   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
force provisions concerning the taxation of used cars                              published in the European Court Reports)
which, first, for the purposes of calculating the basis of
assessment to the special consumer tax permit only 5 %
for each year of age to be deducted from the selling price              In Case C-337/95 : reference to the Court under Article 177
of equivalent new vehicles, which percentage cannot                     of the EC Treaty from the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden
exceed 20 % of the value of the equivalent new vehicles                 for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before
and, second, govern the levying of the flat-rate added                  that court between Parfums Christian Dior SA and
special duty without any reduction for used cars and,                   Parfums Christian Dior BV, and Evora BV — on the
third, grant tax advantages ( reduction of the special                  interpretation of Articles 30, 36 and the third paragraph
consumer tax ) only in respect of new anti-pollution                    of Article 177 of the EC Treaty and of Articles 5 and 7 of
technology cars and not imported anti-pollution                         the First Council Directive ( 89/ 104/EC ) of 21 December
technology used cars, the Hellenic Republic has failed to               1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States
fulfil its obligations under Article 95 of the EC Treaty —              relating to trade marks ( OJ 1989 L 40, p. 1 ) — the Court,
the Court ( Fifth Chamber), composed of: M. C. Gulmann,                 composed of: G. C. Rodriguez Iglesias, President, C.
President of Chamber, M. Wathelet, J. C. Moitinho de                    Gulmann ( Rapporteur ), H. Ragnemalm, R. Schintgen,
Almeida , D. A. O. Edward and J. -P. Puissochet                         Presidents of Chambers, G. F. Mancini, J. C. Moitinho de
 ---pagebreak--- C 387/4                  EN               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  20 . 12 . 97
Almeida, P. J. G. Kapteyn, J. L. Murray, D.     A. O. Edward,                       JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch, P. Jann and L.     Sevon, Judges,
F. G. Jacobs, Advocate General; H.              von Holstein,                             of 4 November 1997
Administrator, for the Registrar, has given     a judgment on
4 November 1997, in which it has ruled:                              in Case C-20/96 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
                                                                     the Social Security Commissioner): Kelvin Albert Snares
                                                                                     v. The Adjudication Officer (')
1 . where a question relating to the interpretation of the
     First Council Directive (89/104/EEC) of 21 December             (Social security — Special non-contributory benefits —
     1988 to approximate the laws of the Member States               Articles 4 (2a) and 10a of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71
     relating to trade marks is raised in proceedings in one             — Disability living allowance — Non-exportability)
     of the Benelux Member States concerning the
                                                                                              ( 97/C 387/07 )
     interpretation of the Uniform Benelux Law on Trade
     Marks, a court against whose decisions there is no
     remedy under national law, as is the case with both
     the Benelux Court and the Hoge Raad der
     Nederlanden, must make a reference to the Court of                              (Language of the case: English)
     Justice under the third paragraph of Article 1 77 of the
     EC Treaty. However, that obligation loses its purpose
     and is thus emptied of its substance when the question
     raised is substantially the same as the question which
     has already been the subject of a preliminary ruling in         In Case C-20/96 : reference to the Court under Article 177
     the same national proceedings;                                  of the EC Treaty from the Social Security Commissioner
                                                                     ( United Kingdom ), for a preliminary ruling in the
                                                                     proceedings pending before that court between Kelvin
2 . on a proper interpretation of Articles 5 and 7 of                Albert Snares and The Adjudication Officer — on the
     Directive 89/104, when trade-marked goods have been             interpretation and validity of Articles 4 ( 2a ) and 10a of
     put on the Community market by the proprietor of the            Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971
     trade mark or with his consent, a reseller, besides             on the application of social security schemes to employed
     being free to resell those goods, is also free to make          persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their
     use of the trade mark in order to bring to the public 's        families moving within the Community, as amended and
     attention the further commercialization of those                updated by Council Regulation ( EEC) No 2001 /83 of
     goods;                                                          2 June 1983 ( OJ 1983 L 230, p. 6 ), as subsequently
                                                                     amended by Council Regulation ( EEC ) No 1247/92 of
                                                                     30 April 1992 ( OJ 1992 L 136, p. 1 ) — the Court,
3 . the proprietor of a trade mark may not rely on                   composed of: G. C. Rodriguez Iglesias, President, C.
     Article 7 (2) of Directive 89/104 to oppose the use of          Gulmann, H. Ragnemalm and M. Wathelet (Presidents of
     the trade mark, by a reseller who habitually markets            Chambers ), G. F. Mancini, J. C. Moitinho de Almeida
     articles of the same kind, but not necessarily of the           ( Rapporteur ), P. J. G. Kapteyn, J. L. Murray, D. A. O.
     same quality, as the trade-marked goods, in ways                Edward, J.-P. Puissochet, G. Hirsch, P. Jann and L. Sevon,
     customary in the reseller's sector of trade, for the            Judges; P. Leger, Advocate General; L. Hewlett,
     purpose of bringing to the public 's attention the              Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
     further commercialization of those goods, unless it is          4 November 1997, in which it has ruled:
     established that, given the specific circumstances of the
     case, the use of the trade mark for this purpose
     seriously damages the reputation of the trade mark;
                                                                     1 . on a proper construction of Article 10a of Council
                                                                         Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the
4 . on a proper interpretation of Articles 30 and 36 of                  application of social security schemes to employed
     the EC Treaty, the proprietor of a trade mark or                    persons, to self-employed persons and to members of
     holder of copyright may not oppose their use by a                   their families moving within the Community, as
     reseller who habitually markets articles of the same                amended and updated by Council Regulation (EEC)
     kind, but not necessarily of the same quality, as the               No 2001 /83 of 2 June 1983, as subsequently amended
     protected goods, in ways customary in the reseller's                by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1247/92 of 30 April
     sector of trade, for the purpose of bringing to the                 1992, read in conjunction with Annex 11a, disability
     public 's attention the further commercialization of                living allowance falls within the scope of that
     those goods, unless it is established that, having regard           provision and is therefore a special non-contributory
     to the specific circumstances of the case, the use of               benefit within the meaning of Article 4 (2a) of that
     those goods for that purpose seriously damages their                regulation, with the result that the position of a person
     reputation.                                                         such as the claimant in the main proceedings, who,
                                                                         after 1 June 1992 when Regulation No 1247/92
(') OJ C 351 , 30 . 12 . 1995 .                                          entered into force, satisfied the conditions for the
                                                                         award of that benefit, is governed exclusively by the
                                                                         system of coordination established by the said
                                                                         Article 10a;