CELEX: C2006/326/134
Language: en
Date: 2006-12-30 00:00:00
Title: Case T-307/06: Action brought on 13 November 2006 — Air Products and Chemicals v OHIM — Messer Group (ALUMIX)

30.12.2006   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 326/63
            
         Action brought on 13 November 2006 — Air Products and Chemicals v OHIM — Messer Group (ALUMIX)
   (Case T-307/06)
   (2006/C 326/134)
   Language in which the application was lodged: English
   Parties
   
      Applicant: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (Allentown, USA) (represented by: S. Heurung, lawyer)
   
      Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)
   
      Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal: Messer Group GmbH (Sulzbach, Germany)
   Form of order sought
   
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               Annul the decision of 12 September 2006 of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM in joined Cases R 1225/2005-2 and R 1397/2005-2;
            
         
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               reject the contested application for registration of the trade mark ‘ALUMIX’ CTM 3 190 022 in its entirety;
            
         
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               send the decision of the Court of First Instance to OHIM;
            
         
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               order Messer Group to pay all the costs and expenses.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
   
      Applicant for the Community trade mark: Messer Group GmbH
   
      Community trade mark concerned: The word mark ‘ALUMIX’ for goods in classes 1 and 4 — application No 3 190 022
   
      Proprietor of the mark or sign cited in the opposition proceedings: The applicant
   
      Mark or sign cited: The Community word mark ‘ALUMIX’ for goods in class 1
   
      Decision of the Opposition Division: Opposition upheld in respect of all goods in class 1; opposition rejected in respect of all goods in class 4
   
      Decision of the Board of Appeal: Appeal brought by the applicant (R 1225/2005-2) dismissed; appeal brought by Messer Group GmbH (R 1397/2005-2) upheld
   
      Pleas in law: Violation of Article 8(1)(b) of Council Regulation No 40/94 as the Board of Appeal among others:
   
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               overestimated the knowledge and awareness of non professional consumers of welding gas;
            
         
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               erroneously assumed that the trade mark ‘ALUMIX’ was inherently weak;
            
         
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               did not pay sufficient attention to the fact that the goods in question are partially identical, partially highly similar; and
            
         
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               failed to consider the overall impression of the marks as a whole.