Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (Germany) lodged on 27 December 2021 – Beverage City & Lifestyle GmbH and Others v Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc.

(Case C-832/21)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf

Parties to the main proceedings

Defendants and appellants: Beverage City & Lifestyle GmbH, MJ, Beverage City Polska Sp.z.o.o., FE

Applicant and respondent: Advance Magazine Publishers, Inc.

Question referred

The Higher Regional Court, Düsseldorf, refers the following question to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Article 122 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 ¹ in conjunction with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. ²

Are claims ‘so closely connected’ that it is expedient to hear and determine them together to prevent irreconcilable judgments, within the meaning of Article 8(1) of Regulation No 1215/2012, where, in infringement proceedings for infringement of an EU trade mark, the connection consists in the fact that the defendant domiciled in a Member State (here, Poland) supplied the goods which infringe an EU trade mark to a defendant domiciled in another Member State (here, Germany) whose legal representative, against whom infringement proceedings have also been brought, is the anchor defendant, if the parties are connected to each other only through the mere supply relationship beyond which there is no legal or factual connection?

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¹     Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark (OJ 2017 L 154, p. 1).

¹     Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2012 L 351, p. 1).