Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 7 March 2019

1. 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

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))

(see paras 22, 23, 121, 127)

2. 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 confusionDetermination of the relevant publicAttention level of the public

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))

(see para. 24)

3. 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

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))

(see para. 32)

4. 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 assessmentComposite mark

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))

(see paras 34, 38-41, 85, 113)

5. 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 concernedAssessment of the distinctiveness of an element of a trade mark

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))

(see para. 42)

6. 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 VERA GREEN and LAVERA

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 8(1)(b))

(see paras 58, 63, 76, 79, 94, 107, 116, 120, 128-131)

7. EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAssessment of the registrability of a signEU rules only taken into accountEarlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countriesDecisions not binding EU bodies

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001)

(see para. 134)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 18 December 2017 (Case R 982/2017-5) relating to opposition proceedings between Laverana and Agroecopark.

Operative part

The Court:

1. Dismisses the action;

2. Orders Laverana GmbH & Co. KG to pay the costs.