Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 21 September 2017
Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 21 September 2017
Data
- Court
- General Court
- Case date
- 21 september 2017
Verdict
Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 21 September 2017 — Novartis v EUIPO — Meda (Zymara)
(Case T‑214/15)
"(EU trade mark - Opposition proceedings - Application for the EU word mark Zymara - Earlier EU word mark FEMARA - Relative ground for refusal - Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 - Article 75 of Regulation No 207/2009 - Article 76(1) of Regulation No 207/2009)"
EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markRelative grounds for refusalOpposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or servicesLikelihood of confusion with the earlier markCriteria for assessment
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 20, 21, 151)
EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markRelative grounds for refusalOpposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or servicesLikelihood of confusion with the earlier markAssessment of the likelihood of confusionAttention level of the publicMedicinal products
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 27, 39, 40, 45-47)
EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markRelative grounds for refusalOpposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or servicesSimilarity between the goods or services in questionCriteria for assessment
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see para. 49)
EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markRelative grounds for refusalOpposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or servicesSimilarity of the marks concernedCriteria for assessment
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 72, 75, 83)
EU trade markProcedural provisionsStatement of reasons for decisionsArticle 75, first sentence, of Regulation No 207/2009Scope identical to that of Article 296 TFEU
(Art. 296 TFEU; Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 75, first sentence)
(see paras 108, 109)
EU trade markDecisions of the OfficeLegalityEUIPO’s previous decision-making practicePrinciple of non-discriminationIrrelevant
(Council Regulation No 207/2009)
(see para. 115)
EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markRelative grounds for refusalOpposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or servicesLikelihood of confusion with the earlier markWord marks Zymara and FEMARA
(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b))
(see paras 155-158)
Re:
ACTION brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 6 February 2015 (Case R 550/2014-5) relating to opposition proceedings between Novartis and Meda.
Operative part
The Court:
Dismisses the action;
Orders Novartis AG to pay the costs.