Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 5 April 2017.Tractel Greifzug GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office.EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — Three-dimensional EU trade mark — Shape of a motor-driven rope winch — Absolute ground for refusal — Sign consisting exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009.Case T-621/15.

Judgment // 05/04/2017 // 2 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 5 April 2017 —Tractel Greifzug v EUIPO — Shenxi Machinery (Shape of a motor-driven rope winch)

(Case T‑621/15)

(EU trade mark — Invalidity proceedings — Three-dimensional EU trade mark — Shape of a motor-driven rope winch — Absolute ground for refusal — Sign consisting exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result — Article 7(1)(e)(ii) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Signs of which a trade mark may consist—Condition—Distinctive character

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 4)

(see para. 20)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result—Identification of the essential characteristics of a three-dimensional sign

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii))

(see paras 21-23)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result—Concept—Existence of other shapes allowing the same technical result to be obtained—Not relevant to the ground for refusal

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Arts 7(1)(e)(ii), and 9(1))

(see paras 27, 29)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Signs which consist exclusively of the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result—Shape of a motor-driven rope winch

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(e)(ii))

(see paras 31, 32)

Re:

ACTION brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 3 September 2015 (Case R 1658/2014-1), relating to invalidity proceedings between Shenxi Machinery and Tractel Greifzug.

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Tractel Greifzug GmbH to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO);

  3. Orders Shenxi Machinery Co. Ltd to bear its own costs.

Trade marks