Judgments nº T-430/16 of The General Court, March 22, 2017

• Resolution Date: March 22, 2017
• Issuing Organization: The General Court
• Decision Number: T-430/16

(EU trade mark - Application for the EU word mark BRENT INDEX - Absolute ground for refusal - Descriptiveness - Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009) In Case T-430/16

Intercontinental Exchange Holdings, Inc., established in Atlanta, Georgia (United States), represented by P. Heusler, lawyer,

applicant,

v

European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), represented by S. Bonne, acting as Agent,

defendant,

ACTION brought against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 2 June 2016 (Case R 8/2016-4), concerning an application for registration of the word sign BRENT INDEX as an EU trade mark,

THE GENERAL COURT (Eighth Chamber),

composed of A.M. Collins, President, R. Barents (Rapporteur) and J. Passer, Judges,

Registrar: E. Coulon,

having regard to the application lodged at the Court Registry on 29 July 2016,

having regard to the response lodged at the Court Registry on 25 October 2016,

having regard to the fact that no request for a hearing was submitted by the main parties within three weeks after service of notification of the close of the written part of the procedure, and having decided to rule on the action without an oral part of the procedure, pursuant to Article 106(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the General Court,

gives the following

Judgment

Background to the dispute

1 On 23 June 2015, the applicant, Intercontinental Exchange Holdings, Inc., filed an application for registration of an EU trade mark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 of 26 February 2009 on the European Union trade mark (OJ 2009 L 78, p. 1).

2 Registration as a mark was sought for the word sign BRENT INDEX.

3 The goods and services in respect of which registration was sought are in Classes 9, 36 and 42 of the Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks of 15 June 1957, as revised and amended, and correspond to the following description:

- Class 9: ‘Electronic publications, namely, newsletters, journals, bulletins, fact sheets, reports, summaries, guidelines, manuals, compilations, brochures, workbooks, and worksheets featuring financial news and financial information, including commentary, articles, charts, lists, diagrams, images, tables, editorials, calculations, prices, historic data, and financial data; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, calculating, collecting, compiling, analysing, estimating, evaluating, and reporting price indices and related information for use in transactions involving financial instruments; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, providing information in the field of financial transaction settlement rates, financial margin rates of financial instruments and currency exchange rates; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, operating a commodities and commodity derivatives exchange, providing financial exchange services for transactions involving currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, financial clearing and clearing house services, namely, clearing financial transactions involving currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, financial investment and advisory services, monitoring of global financial markets for others, also known as, global investment research services; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, disseminating real-time and historic financial news, data and information for the purchasing, selling, administering, managing, monitoring, settling, clearing, pricing of global financial markets, currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, disseminating real-time and historic financial news, data and information for the valuing and tracking of global financial markets, currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; and interactive computer software and computer hardware for providing financial services on-line from a global computer network and the internet via computer terminals and mobile communication devices, namely, financial research and analysis services, brokerage services involving currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds and financial planning services’;

- Class 36: ‘Financial services, namely, calculating, collecting, compiling, analyzing, estimating, evaluating, and reporting financial price indices and related information for use in transactions involving financial instruments; providing information in the field of financial transaction settlement rates, financial margin rates of financial instruments and currency exchange rates; operating a commodities and commodity derivatives exchange; providing financial exchange services for transactions involving currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; financial clearing and clearing house services, namely, clearing financial transactions involving currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; financial investment and advisory services; monitoring of global financial markets for others, also known as, global investment research services; disseminating real-time and historic financial news, data and information for the purchasing, selling, administering, managing, monitoring, settling, clearing, pricing, valuing and tracking of global financial markets, currencies, commodities, futures, derivatives, securities, shares, stocks, options and bonds; financial research and analysis services; brokerage...