Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 27 September 2018.Carbon System Verwaltungs GmbH v European Union Intellectual Property Office.EU trade mark — Application for the EU word mark LIGHTBOUNCE — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — No distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001).Case T-825/17.

Judgment // 27/09/2018 // 2 min read
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Judgment of the General Court (Fifth Chamber) of 27 September 2018 –Carbon System Verwaltungs v EUIPO (LIGHTBOUNCE)

(Case T‑825/17)

(EU trade mark — Application for the EU word mark LIGHTBOUNCE — Absolute ground for refusal — Descriptive character — No distinctive character — Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009 (now Article 7(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001))

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Aim—Need to preserve availability

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

(see para. 26)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Meaning

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

(see para. 27)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Assessment of the descriptive nature of a sign—Criteria

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

(see paras 28, 29)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Marks composed exclusively of signs or indications capable of designating the characteristics of a product or service—Word mark LIGHTBOUNCE

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

(see paras 31-41)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Assessment of the registrability of a sign—EU rules only taken into account—Earlier registration of the mark in certain Member States or third countries—Decisions not binding EU bodies

(Council Regulation No 207/2009)

(see para. 43)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Refusal of registration based on one of the absolute grounds for refusal set out in Article 7(1) of Regulation No 207/2009—Whether sufficient

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

(see para. 48)

  1. EU trade mark—Definition and acquisition of the EU trade mark—Absolute grounds for refusal—Descriptive character of a sign—Circumstance necessarily implying absence of distinctive character of the sign

(Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 7(1)(b) and (c))

(see para. 49)

Re:

Action brought against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of EUIPO of 11 October 2017 (Case R 2301/2016-1) concerning an application for registration of the word sign LIGHTBOUNCE as an EU trade mark.

Operative part

The Court:

  1. Dismisses the action;

  2. Orders Carbon System Verwaltungs GmbH to pay the costs.

Trade marks