Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 15 September 2017.Viridis Pharmaceutical Ltd. v European Union Intellectual Property Office.EU trade mark — Revocation proceedings — EU word mark Boswelan — Declaration of revocation — Article 51(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — No proper reasons for non-use.Case T-276/16.

Judgment // 15/09/2017 // 2 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Second Chamber) of 15 September 2017 — Viridis Pharmaceutical v EUIPO — Hecht-Pharma (Boswelan)

(Case T‑276/16)

(EU trade mark — Revocation proceedings — EU word mark Boswelan — Declaration of revocation — Article 51(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 — Absence of genuine use of a trade mark — No proper reasons for non-use)

  1. EU trade mark—Surrender, revocation and invalidity—Causes of revocation—Absence of genuine use of a trade mark—Proof of use of the earlier mark—Genuine use—Meaning—Criteria for assessment

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(a))

(see paras 30-33)

  1. EU trade mark—Surrender, revocation and invalidity—Causes of revocation—Absence of genuine use of a trade mark—Word mark Boswelan

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(a))

(see paras 35, 36, 38-40, 59-61, 63)

  1. EU trade mark—Surrender, revocation and invalidity—Causes of revocation—Absence of genuine use of a trade mark—Concept of ‘proper reasons’ for non-use—Independent and uniform interpretation—Obstacles bearing a direct relation to the trade mark rendering its use unreasonable or impossible and independent of the volition of the trade mark proprietor

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 51(1)(a))

(see paras 52, 54)

  1. EU trade mark—Decisions of the Office—Legality—Examination by the EU judicature—Criteria

(Council Regulation No 207/2009)

(see paras 62)

  1. EU law—Principles—Protection of legitimate expectations—Conditions—Specific assurances given by the authorities

(see paras 67, 68)

Re:

ACTION against the decision of the Fifth Board of EUIPO of 29 February 2016 (Case R 2837/2014-5), relating to revocation proceedings between Hecht-Pharma and Viridis Pharmaceutical.

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Viridis Pharmaceutical Ltd to pay the costs.

Trade marks