Orders nº T-871/19 of Tribunal General de la Unión Europea, March 03, 2020

• Resolution Date: March 03, 2020
• Issuing Organization: Tribunal General de la Unión Europea
• Decision Number: T-871/19

(EU trade mark - Opposition proceedings - Application for EU word mark Xocolat - Earlier EU word mark LUXOCOLAT - Res judicata - Manifest inadmissibility)

In Case T-871/19,

Ramona Mahr, residing in Vienna (Austria), represented by T. Rohracher, lawyer,

applicant,

v

European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO),

defendant,

the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO being:

Especialidades Vira, SL, established in Martorell (Spain),

ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 6 November 2017 (Case R 541/2017-2), relating to opposition proceedings between Especialidades Vira and Ms Mahr,

THE GENERAL COURT (Sixth Chamber),

composed of A. Marcoulli (Rapporteur), President, C. Iliopoulos and R. Norkus, Judges,

Registrar: E. Coulon,

having regard to the application lodged at the Court Registry on 20 December 2019,

makes the following

Order

Background to the dispute

1 On 6 July 2015, the applicant, Ms Ramona Mahr, 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), as amended (replaced by Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark (OJ 2017 L 154, p. 1)).

2 The trade mark for which registration was sought is the word sign Xocolat.

3 The goods in respect of which registration was sought are in Class 30 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: ‘Chocolate, chocolate goods, including filled, chocolate paste and coatings; cocoa products, including cocoa powder and cocoa-based mixtures in powder form; chocolates and confectionery’.

4 The trade mark application was published in Community Trade Marks Bulletin No 141/2015 of 30 July 2015.

5 On 31 August 2015, Especialidades Vira, SL filed a notice of opposition pursuant to Article 41 of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 46 of Regulation 2017/1001) to registration of the mark applied for in respect of the goods referred to in paragraph 3 above.

6 The opposition was based on the earlier EU word mark LUXOCOLAT, applied for on 11 June 2013 and registered on 4 November 2013 under No 11888948.

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