Pierre Lannier v European Union Intellectual Property Office.
| Jurisdiction | European Union |
| ECLI | ECLI:EU:T:2022:818 |
| Date | 14 December 2022 |
| Docket Number | T-530/21 |
| Celex Number | 62021TJ0530 |
| Court | General Court (European Union) |
JUDGMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT (Tenth Chamber)
14 December 2022 ( *1 )
(EU trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for an EU figurative mark representing the superposed capital letters ‘P’ and ‘L’ – Earlier EU figurative mark representing a mirror image combination of the superposed capital letters ‘P’ and ‘L’ – Admissibility of the appeal before the Board of Appeal – Locus standi – Relative ground for refusal – Likelihood of confusion – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001))
In Case T‑530/21,
Pierre Lannier, established in Ernolsheim-lès-Saverne (France), represented by N. Boespflug, lawyer,
applicant,
v
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), represented by E. Markakis, acting as Agent,
defendant,
the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, intervener before the General Court, being
Pierre Lang Trading GmbH, established in Vienna (Austria), represented by A. Ginzburg, lawyer,
THE GENERAL COURT (Tenth Chamber),
composed, at the time of the deliberations, of A. Kornezov, President, K. Kowalik-Bańczyk and G. Hesse (Rapporteur), Judges,
Registrar: G. Mitrev, Administrator,
having regard to the written part of the procedure,
further to the hearing on 9 September 2022,
gives the following
Judgment ( 1 )
|
1 |
By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant, Pierre Lannier, seeks the annulment of the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) of 11 June 2021 (Case R 1915/2020-5) (‘the contested decision’). … |
Forms of order sought
|
10 |
The applicant claims, in essence, that the Court should:
|
|
11 |
EUIPO and the intervener contend that the Court should:
|
Law
…
The first plea in law, alleging infringement of Article 67, Article 68(1) and Article 94 of Regulation 2017/1001, as well as Article 22(1) and Article 42(3) of Delegated Regulation 2018/625
|
16 |
In essence, the applicant makes a number of criticisms of the Board of Appeal’s assessment, in the contested decision, concerning the intervener’s response to the deficiency notified to it by the Registry of the Boards of Appeal. According to the applicant, the Board of Appeal wrongly held that the appeal was admissible. In support of its arguments, it alleges infringement of Article 67, Article 68(1) and Article 94 of Regulation 2017/1001, as well as Article 22(1) and Article 42(3) of Delegated Regulation 2018/625. |
|
17 |
EUIPO and the intervener, Pierre Lang Trading GmbH, dispute those arguments. |
|
18 |
In the first place, it is necessary to examine the arguments by which the applicant criticises the Board of Appeal for having declared the intervener’s appeal admissible. |
|
19 |
As a reminder of the circumstances in the light of which the Board of Appeal examined the admissibility of the appeal before it, it should be noted that, on 2 March 2017, Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. filed a notice of opposition to registration of the mark applied for pursuant to Article 41(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009 (now Article 46(1)(a) of Regulation 2017/1001). As is stated in paragraph 6 above, the ground relied on in support of the opposition was that set out in Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation No 207/2009. As is stated in paragraph 6 above, the ground relied on in support of the opposition was that set out in Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation No 207/2009. |
|
20 |
By a company purchase agreement concluded on 4 April 2019, Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. was acquired with all its tangible and intangible assets, including all of its trade marks, by the newly formed undertaking PL Schmuckhandels GmbH, whose company name, according to the extract from the Austrian companies register dated 8 January 2021, was amended to Pierre Lang Trading GmbH on 17 May 2019. |
|
21 |
On 31 July 2020, the Opposition Division rejected the opposition in its entirety. |
|
22 |
On 30 September 2020, a notice of appeal was filed against the decision of the Opposition Division, by means of a form made available to the interested parties by EUIPO. On that form, the appellant’s name was Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. |
|
23 |
On 30 November 2020, a statement setting out the grounds of appeal was filed with EUIPO, within the time limit laid down in Article 68(1) of Regulation 2017/1001, under the name Pierre Lang Europe Ges.m.b.H. |
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24 |
On 11 January 2021, following a letter from the Registry of the Boards of Appeal in which that registry invited the appellant before the Board of Appeal to clarify its name, EUIPO received the following documents:
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|
25 |
It is in the light of those circumstances that the arguments by which the applicant criticises the Board of Appeal for having declared the intervener’s appeal admissible must be examined. |
|
26 |
First, the applicant submits that the Board of Appeal infringed Article 67 of Regulation 2017/1001. In particular, it claims that the documents produced by the intervener to rectify the appeal are insufficient. In essence, the applicant submits that the documents produced do not establish the locus standi of the intervener to bring an appeal before the Board of Appeal. |
|
27 |
It must be observed that, under Article 41(1)(a) of Regulation No 207/2009, applicable at the time, within a period of three months following the publication of an EU trade mark application, notice of opposition to registration of the trade mark may be given on the grounds that it may not be registered under Article 8 thereof. In respect, as in the present case, of Article 8(1)(b) of that regulation, notices of opposition may be filed, inter alia, by the proprietors of EU trade marks with a date of application for registration which is earlier than the date of application for registration of the EU trade mark. |
|
28 |
In the present case, it is common ground that Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. was the proprietor of the earlier mark when it filed a notice of opposition, on 2 March 2017, to registration of the mark applied for. |
|
29 |
In the light of the company purchase agreement produced before the Board of Appeal, it must be noted that, following the purchase, on 4 April 2019, of Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. and all of its trade marks by the intervener, the latter became the proprietor of the earlier mark. |
|
30 |
It is apparent from the documents before the Court that, following the rejection, on 31 July 2020, of the opposition to registration of the mark applied for, a notice of appeal was filed with EUIPO on 30 September 2020 against the decision of the Opposition Division. As is apparent from the notice of appeal reproduced on pages 82 and 83 of EUIPO’s file, that notice was filed under the name Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. |
|
31 |
In that regard, it must be stated that, according to the case-law, when EUIPO examines the admissibility of an appeal brought before it, it must take into account the Register of European Union trade marks (‘the Register’) (judgment of 11 February 2020, Jakober v EUIPO (Shape of a cup), T‑262/19, not published, EU:T:2020:41, paragraph 23). On the date on which the notice of appeal was filed against the decision of the Opposition Division, the name of the proprietor of the earlier mark set out in the Register was Pierre Lang Europe Handelsges.m.b.H. |
|
32 |
It is also apparent from the documents before the Court that, in order to fulfil the obligation under Article 68(1) of Regulation 2017/1001, a statement setting out the grounds of appeal was filed with EUIPO on 30 November 2020. The name Pierre Lang Europe Ges.m.b.H. was included in that document. |
|
33 |
Noting that the statement setting out the grounds of appeal had been filed in the name of an undertaking designated by a name different from that entered in the Register, the Registry of the Boards of Appeal, by letter of 9 December 2020, requested the party which had instituted the appeal proceedings to submit observations in that regard and to produce any documents capable of substantiating those observations. |
|
34 |
In response to that request, the intervener sought, on 11 January 2021, to correct the name of the appellant before the Board of Appeal as set out in the notice of appeal, relying on Article 21(1)(a) and Article 23(1)(c) of Delegated Regulation 2018/625. It produced, in support of its request, the documents referred to in paragraph 24 above. |
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35 |
In that regard, it must be borne... |
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