CELEX: C2001/303/37
Language: en
Date: 2001-10-27 00:00:00
Title: Case T-194/01: Action brought on 14 August 2001 by Unilever N.V. against the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market

27.10.2001             EN                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                       C 303/23
In support of his action for annulment, the applicant also               Grounds of claim:            Incorrect       interpretation   of
alleges infringement of the guidelines adopted by the Com-                                            article 7 (1) (b) of the Council
mission on 18 September 1999, breach of the principle of                                              Regulation No 40/94 — The mark
equal treatment and psychological harassment in the work                                              is sufficiently distinctive. The
place. Finally the applicant claims compensation for damage                                           Applicant claims further that the
he claims to have suffered.                                                                           burden to proof otherwise lays
                                                                                                      with the Board of Appeal. It is not
                                                                                                      up to the Applicant to show that
                                                                                                      article 7(1) (b) of the Council
                                                                                                      Regulation No 40/94 is not appli-
                                                                                                      cable.
Action brought on 14 August 2001 by Unilever N.V.
against the Office for Harmonization in the Internal
                              Market
                         (Case T-194/01)
                         (2001/C 303/37)
                                                                         Action brought on 20 August 2001 by the Government
                                                                         of Gibraltar against the Commission of the European
                   (Language of the case: English)                                                Communities
An action against the Office for Harmonization in the Internal                                   (Case T-195/01)
Market was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
European Communities on 14 August 2001 by Unilever N.V.,
a company registered in Rotterdam (Netherlands) represented                                      (2001/C 303/38)
by Dr. Verna von Bomhard and Dr. Andreas Renck of Lovells
Boesebeck Droste, Alicante (Spain).
                                                                                           (Language of the case: English)
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                         An action against the Commission of the European Communi-
—     alter the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the             ties was brought before the Court of First Instance of the
      Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade             European Communities on 20 August 2001 by the Govern-
      Marks and Designs) of 22 May 2001 (Case R 1086/                    ment of Gibraltar, represented by Alastair Sutton, Michael
      2000-1) to provide that the trade mark at hand is eligible         Llamas and Walter Schuster, of White & Case, Brussels
      for registration as a Community trade mark;                        (Belgium).
—     alternatively, the decision be annulled;
                                                                         The applicant claims that the Court should:
—     order the defendant to bear the costs of the proceedings.
                                                                         —     annul the Commission’s decision to open the procedure
                                                                               under Article 88(2), in the form of the letter of 11 July
Pleas in law and main arguments                                                2001 addressed to the United Kingdom;
                                                                         —     order the defendant to pay the costs.
Applicant for the Com-         Unilever N.V.
munity trade mark:
The Community trade            Three dimensional mark (Pebble            Pleas in law and main arguments
mark concerned:                shape)        —         Application
                               No 1 418 250 for certain goods
                               in class 3                                The Government of Gibraltar introduced a tax scheme under
                                                                         which certain companies, under certain conditions, were
Decision of the Exam-          Rejection of the Application              exempt from income tax and subject only to a fixed tax (the
iner:                                                                    exempt company legislation). That legislation was modified by
                                                                         several amendments before and after the accession of the
Decision of the Board of       Partial acceptance of the Appeal          United Kingdom and Gibraltar to the European Communities
Appeal:                                                                  in 1973.