Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 17 September 2019

EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceAimNeed to preserve availability

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c))

(see para. 15)

EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceMeaning

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c))

(see paras 16-18)

EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceAssessment of the descriptive nature of a signCriteria

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c))

(see para. 19)

EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalSeparate examination of the grounds for refusal in relation to each of the goods or services covered by the application for registrationObligation to state the reasons for refusing to registerScope

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Arts 7(1) and 94(1), first sentence)

(see para. 28)

EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalMarks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or serviceWord mark Theatre

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(c))

(see paras 38, 39, 45, 48, 49, 52, 53)

EU trade markDefinition and acquisition of the EU trade markAbsolute grounds for refusalOverlap of the scope of the grounds set out in Articles 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of Regulation No 2017/1001

(European Parliament and Council Regulation 2017/1001, Art. 7(1)(b) and (c))

(see paras 57, 58)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 26 April 2018 (Case R 2238/2017-2) relating to an application for registration of the word sign Theatre as an EU trade mark.

Operative part

The Court:

Dismisses the action;

Orders TrekStor Ltd to pay the costs.