Judgment of the General Court (First Chamber) of 7 October 2014 —
Tifosi Optics v OHIM — Tom Tailor (T)
(Case T‑531/12)
Community trade mark — Opposition proceedings — Application for Community figurative mark T — Earlier Community figurative mark T — Relative ground for refusal — Likelihood of confusion — Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 207/2009
1. Community trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Re-evaluation of the facts in the light of evidence produced for the first time before it — Exclusion (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 135(4); Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65) (see para. 17)
2. Community trade mark — Appeals procedure — Action before the EU judicature — Jurisdiction of the General Court — Review of the lawfulness of decisions of the Boards of Appeal — Review of the legal classification given to the facts of the dispute — Review of the assessment by the Board of Appeal of the likelihood of confusion — Similarity of the products undisputed — Effect (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 65) (see paras 27, 28)
3. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 34-36, 85)
4. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Similarity of the products concerned — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 38, 39)
5. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Similarity of the marks concerned — Criteria for assessment (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 56, 57)
6. Community trade mark — Definition and acquisition of the Community trade mark — Relative grounds for refusal — Opposition by the proprietor of an earlier identical or similar mark registered for identical or similar goods or services — Likelihood of confusion with the earlier mark — Figurative marks T (Council Regulation No 207/2009, Art. 8(1)(b)) (see paras 88-92)
Re:
| ACTION brought against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of OHIM of 17 September 2012 (Case R 729/2011-2), concerning opposition proceedings between Tom Tailor GmbH and Tifosi Optics, Inc. |
Operative part
The Court:
2. | | Orders Tifosi Optics, Inc. to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) and Tom Tailor GmbH. |