Action brought on 1 June 2009 - INEOS Healthcare v OHIM - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (ALPHAREN)

(Case T-222/09)

Language in which the application was lodged: English

Parties

Applicants: INEOS Healthcare Ltd (Warrington, United Kingdom) (represented by: S. Malynicz, Barrister and A. Smith, Solicitor)

Defendant: Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)

Other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Jerusalem, Israel)

Form of order sought

Annul the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) of 24 March 2009 in case R 1897/2007-2; and

Order the defendant and the other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal to pay their own costs, as well as those of the applicant.

Pleas in law and main arguments

Applicant for the Community trade mark: The applicant

Community trade mark concerned: The word mark "ALPHAREN", for goods in class 5

Proprietor of the mark or sign cited in the opposition proceedings: The other party to the proceedings before the Board of Appeal

Mark or sign cited: Hungarian trade mark registration of the word mark "ALPHA D3" for goods in class 5; Lithuanian trade mark registration of the word mark "ALPHA D3" for goods in class 5; Latvian trade mark registration of the word mark "ALPHA D3" for goods in class 5

Decision of the Opposition Division: Upheld the opposition

Decision of the Board of Appeal: Dismissed the appeal

Pleas in law: The Board of Appeal failed to take account of the fact that the other party to the proceedings before it had failed to adduce evidence of similarity between the respective goods; Infringement of Article 75 of Council Regulation 207/2009 and the right to be heard as the Board of Appeal wrongly based material parts of its decision on evidence on which the applicant was not provided with an opportunity to present its comments; Infringement of Article 76 of Council Regulation 207/2009 as the Board of Appeal, in proceedings relating to relative grounds for refusal of registration, failed to restrict itself to an examination of the facts, evidence and arguments provided by the parties and the relief sought; Infringement of Article 8(1)(b) of Council Regulation 207/2009 as the Board of Appeal erred in relation to the identification of the relevant public and overall in its assessment of the likelihood of confusion.

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