Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 April 2015

Data

Court: General Court

Case date: 16 april 2015

Verdict

Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber) of 16 April 2015 —

Drogenhilfe Köln Projekt v OHIM (Rauschbrille)

(Case T‑319/14)

"Community trade mark - Application for Community word mark Rauschbrille - Absolute grounds for refusal - Descriptiveness - Lack of distinctive character - Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009"

1. Community trade markDefinition and acquisition of the Community trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalInterpretation in the light of the underlying public interestArticle 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 207/2009AimNeed to preserve availability (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 14)

2. Community trade markDefinition and acquisition of the Community trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceConcept (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 15-17)

3. Community trade markDefinition and acquisition of the Community trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceNeologism consisting of elements descriptive of characteristics of the goods or services concernedWhether included where the nature of the combination is not unusual (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see para. 18)

4. Community trade markDefinition and acquisition of the Community trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceWord mark Rauschbrille (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(c)) (see paras 22-24)

5. Community trade markDefinition and acquisition of the Community trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks devoid of any distinctive characterAssessment of distinctive characterCriteria (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 32, 33)

6. Community trade markDefinition and acquisition of the Community trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks devoid of any distinctive characterWord mark Rauschbrille (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b)) (see paras 34-36)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of OHIM of 29 January 2014 (Case R 1356/2013-1), concerning an application for registration of the word sign Rauschbrille as a Community trade mark.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Drogenhilfe Köln Projekt gGmbH to pay the costs.