Orders nº T-180/19 of Tribunal General de la Unión Europea, March 04, 2020

• Resolution Date: March 04, 2020
• Issuing Organization: Tribunal General de la Unión Europea
• Decision Number: T-180/19

(Community design - Invalidity proceedings - Registered Community design representing a beverage bottle - Earlier international design - Revocation of the contested decision - Action which has become devoid of purpose - No need to adjudicate)

In Case T-180/19,

Bibita Group SHPK, established in Tirana (Albania), represented by C. Seyfert, lawyer,

applicant,

v

European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), represented by J. Ivanauskas, acting as Agent,

defendant,

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

Benkomers OOD, established in Sofia (Bulgaria),

ACTION brought against the decision of the Third Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 14 January 2019 (Case R 1070/2018-3), relating to invalidity proceedings between Bibita Group and Benkomers,

THE GENERAL COURT (Fifth Chamber),

composed of D. Spielmann, President, O. Spineanu-Matei (Rapporteur) and R. Mastroianni, Judges,

Registrar: E. Coulon,

having regard to the application lodged at the Registry of the General Court on 26 March 2019,

having regard to the change in the composition of the Chambers of the General Court and the reassignment of the case to the Fifth Chamber,

having regard to the decisions of 20 June and 12 November 2019 to suspend the proceedings,

having regard to EUIPO’s application for a declaration that there is no need to adjudicate lodged at the Court Registry on 21 January 2020,

having regard to the applicant’s observations on the application for a declaration that there is no need to adjudicate, filed at the Court Registry on 7 February 2020,

makes the following

Order

1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 26 March 2019, the applicant, Bibita Group SHPK, brought an action for annulment of the decision of the Third Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 14 January 2019 relating to invalidity proceedings between itself and Benkomers OOD (‘the contested decision’).

2 By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 24 May 2019, EUIPO informed the Court that the Board of Appeal had initiated a procedure for the revocation of the contested decision. That procedure was based on Article 68 of Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs (OJ 2002 L 3, p. 1), on Article 39 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2002 of 21 October 2002 implementing Council Regulation No 6/2002 (OJ 2002 L 341, p. 28) and on paragraph 40 of the judgment of 18 October 2011, Reisenthel v OHIM -...